A Bunch of MegaMan X Shorts Featuring Vile
by Friendly Uncle
Summary: This is developing into more than just a series of shorts. Now that Vile's back, all heck's breaking loose as a mysterious reploid begins to kidnap powerful Mavericks. Is the purple wonder next on his list?
1. Kidnapped

And so it begins. Not sure where I'm gonna go with this, or even if I'm gonna continue. Every chapter'll be a surprise! Yay! Enjoy yourselves.

Oh, and I don't own MMX. I own Geoffrey, Lana, Argo, Philip, the weird guy, and Danielle tho.

---

Breep! Breep!

Alia's hand descended to her bedside table like a tidal wave, striking the snooze button on her alarm with unerring accuracy.

"Mph, five more minutes you fascist machine... wait, today's Saturday..."

Breep! Breep!

This time her hand fell on the headset sitting beside her clock. She grumbled as she dragged it over to her and put it against her face.

"Figures. I always take the weekend off and it never fails someone absolutely HAS to talk to me at the bloody crack o' noon there must be some kind of universal law that I'm not allowed to sleep in hello what is it?"

"Miss Alia?"

"Give me a good reason for this intrusion or your very life is forfeit."

"Ma'am! There's an emergency! Commander Zero's looking for Commander X! But he's not in his quarters and he's not answering his pager! You always seem to be able to find him so we assumed..."

"Right right, I'll take care of it. Go back to work, peon."

"Yes ma'am!"

Alia sighed and plunked the headset back down on her table. Then she rolled over and prodded X in the nose. "Hey, sleepyhead, time to get up."

X grumbled. "Alia, if you want seconds, you can bloody well wait until I'm rested. I may be a reploid but even we can't go more than ten or eleven times a night..."

"Actually it's not me this time. Zero wants some too."

"...oh holy hell why don't you just gouge out my eyes?"

She gave him a shove and he rolled out of bed, landing in a heap on the floor amid the various articles of clothing that had been scattered there earlier. There was a moment of silence.

"Hey, I've been paged."

"Yeah. Apparently there's an emergency or something. Why don't you go take care of that?"

"And what will you be doing in the meantime?"

"Why, lying here unclad, awaiting hot sexings upon your eventual return."

"Actually, if I recall, you're wearing my boxers."

"Hmm, so I am."

"Can I have those back?"

"You'll wear my thong and like it, mister."

-

Zero was gnawing on his ponytail as he sat waiting in the command room. And I'm not talking figuratively. He literally had a fairly large chunk of his ponytail in his mouth and was chewing on it. It was quite a sight to behold.

"You know, if you don't stop that it's gonna get all crinkled and wet and icky, and then what will the Mavericks think? That you didn't care enough about them to get your hair all nice before you came to kill them?"

The second-in-command of Zero's Shinobi unit, a reploid woman in blue-trimmed snow-gray armor named Lana, was leaning on a control console as she watched her commander eat his hair. Lana took fastidious care of her own flowing white locks, so she couldn't understand how Zero got away with abusing his the way he did and still come out looking like he'd just finished washing, conditioning, and carefully blow-drying it. Zero was enormously fond of pointing this out to her on a regular basis.

He spat the lock of hair out and placed another plait in its place, grunting noncommittally as he continued to chew. Lana sighed and threw up her hands in a gesture of surrender. Then the door whisked open and in walked the love child of Shakespeare and Carrot Top.

Geoffrey didn't look like most Maverick Hunters on the base. In fact, he went out of his way to avoid it. Wearing only the bare minimum of unpainted gray armor on his arms, boots, and chest, he otherwise maintained a carefully slipshod look of half-fastened black trousers, a baggy shirt that may have once been white, and a ratty old dark brown trenchcoat with an upturned collar and garish gold trimmings. He could not be prevailed upon to wear a helmet, insisting on letting his spiky short sandy blonde hair be free to "breathe."

And then, of course, there was his particular flair for the dramatic.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Here today you stand in the presence of greatness! Not myself of course, but another comes after me, one whose boots I am not worthy to cleanse of the Maverick blood that clings to them! Bow before him! Give him honor and praise, for he has saved your sorry asses from the forces of darkness more times than I can count! Because I cannot count very high at all! Give it up! For I present to you, the ONE, the ONLY, MEGA MAAAAAAN X! Ow!"

X smacked him in the back of the head as he passed. Behind him, Argo, another member of the 17th unit, gave the loud reploid another whack for good measure. Geoffrey ducked the second blow and smacked Argo on the ass. The larger reploid grunted in surprise and started chasing Geoffrey around the room. X watched them for a second, shook his head, and walked over to Zero.

"You've been looking for me?"

Zero spat out his hair. "For TWENTY FREAKING MINUTES. Twenty minutes X. If this was an emergency then we could have all kissed our asses goodbye, because YOU had to have your precious beauty sleep. Not that you don't need it, but damn man! Priorities!"

X nodded, raised a finger, opened his mouth to speak, stopped, considered, and then turned pointedly to Lana. "What the hell is he blathering about?"

Lana held up a plastic bag, in which was contained a Post-It note. "This was found this morning on a jungle gym in the park a few blocks down. A seven year-old girl named Danielle is missing and her friends say the last time they saw her she was going over to give a homeless guy her sandwich."

"Oh isn't that just frickin' adorable. I fail to see why this came to us instead of the police except what the poo do we have here...?"

The Post-It note had been scribbled on with what appeared to be red crayon. It was hard to make out the exact wording of the message with all the extraneous marks, but it seemed to boil down to "Hey! Maverick Hunters! You want this girl back? The dog knows all! THE DOG! Follow the dog!"

"...did the homeless guy have a dog?"

"Yeah, a little rat terrier, but we haven't been able to find it. We think we know why, though, look on the back."

X turned the note in a bag over. Written neatly on the back of the note was "Oh, and be sure you tell X and Zero to come, 'cause I'm such a HUGE fan. Ta!"

"This is messed up," said X.

"Tell me about it!" said Zero, leaping to his feet. "We have to get to the bottom of this X!"

"You DO realize this is a glaringly obvious trap, right?"

"Of course! I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself!"

"...riiiight... so we should probably have some backup on this. You're bringing Lana, I take it?"

Lana took the double-ended lance from her back and whirled it in the air, light sparkling off the razor-sharp silver blades. "Sho 'nuff."

"Alrighty then. Argo! Stop chasing Geoffrey, you're temporarily in command of the 17th unit until I get back."

Argo and Geoffrey skidded to a halt, the former with a delighted look on his face, the latter looking somewhat outraged. "Whaaaat!? You're putting HIM in command? What about me? I have seniority!"

"You're also deranged. You're coming with me so I can keep an eye on you."

Geoffrey sighed. "Right, right, tally-ho then. When are we leaving?"

"Now. Let's go."

"Woohoo!"

"Stop hugging me Zero!"

-

A quick search of the playground revealed no sign of any dogs or dangerous homeless people. Zero voted for firing their arm cannons in the air and declaring martial law, but then they got some coffee into him and he mellowed out. They were currently wandering around, hoping something would happen. Lana noticed X leaning against the wall next to a dark alley and walked over, curious.

"X? Why are you just sitting there?"

"Shh, listen."

"Listen to what?"

"Is it safe?"

"Buh?"

"You heard him," said X. "He wants to know if it's safe."

"Is it safe?"

"Uh... yes?"

"It rubs the lotion in its... in its... skidmark? No, that's not right. Damnit, I don't have the ram capacity for this. Screw it."

A little terrier dog trotted out of the alley and looked up at a visually disturbed Lana. It winked, then turned to X.

"Yo, so the boss says to give you a message. Uh... assuming you ARE MegaMan X?"

"Why yes. Yes I am."

"Right. I'm supposed to say initiate self-destruct sequence- oh FU-!"

Poom!

The dog exploded with a flash of light and a burst of fur and multicolored confetti. X and Lana traded horrified looks before a charred piece of notebook paper landed on X's head. He took it off and read it, eyes widening somewhat in surprise.

Zero and Geoffrey ran over. "Bloody hell!" said Geoffrey, "what did you do to that poor dog? He just up and all a'sploded he did!"

"He was delivering a message," said X, handing him the paper. "Here, set your teleporter for these coordinates. We're going in."

"Woohoo!"

This time X hammered Zero in the side of the head before he got a chance.

-

Four teleportation beams touched down, one red, one blue, one white, and one sort of dirty flesh-colored. The results were Zero, X, Lana, and Geoffrey. A fifth beam, a blue so light that it looked white, touched X and left him wearing the gleaming white fourth armor that he had acquired a few months ago during the Repliforce uprising. Properly teleported and armored, the four hunters took stock of their situation.

They were in the middle of a fairly large room, apparently a storehouse of some sort. The only illumination was beams of light that fell through the gaps in boarded up windows. Everything was covered in dust and the only visible exit was a door that had fallen half off of its hinges. It was run-down, musty, and vaguely creepy.

"GPS scanning... we're in the warehouse for the old Toyota factory in sector three," Lana said, holding the auditory receptor on the side of her helmet.

"The one that exploded during the Doppler War?" asked Zero.

"Yeah. As I recall, you had something to do with that, didn't you commander X?"

X didn't seem to hear her. Instead he ran across the room towards the door and kicked it the rest of the way open, revealing a dark hallway beyond.

"Come on!"

The others looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. As they ran, Lana drew her lance, and Geoffrey pulled out a large, cross-hilted beam saber. Zero just cracked his knuckles. X transformed his right arm into cannon mode. It only took them a few seconds to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and picked up the pace. Despite being the slowest of the four on foot X was there first, slamming his fist into the door and knocking it aside as he burst into the room.

It was much smaller, about the size of an office, light streaming in from the remains of a skylight in the ceiling. Most of the room was still cloaked in shadow, but the hunters could still make out the large figure, totally obscured by a ratty brown blanket, sitting in a chair at the far side of it. X and Zero raised their arm cannons.

"Where's Danielle?" asked X.

"And who are you?" added Zero.

The voice was scratchy and faded, like an old record. "I am the terror that flaps in the night..."

There was a telltale whine of X's arm cannon charging for a shot.

"Stop with the stupid theatrics and tell us, you're helpless against all four of us."

"Hehehehe... I beg to differ... Danielle here, is helpless..."

The blanket was thrown back to reveal the girl sitting in her captor's lap, bound in a length of rusty chain and gagged with a strip torn from the bottom of her skirt. Her eyes were wide and frightened, red-rimmed from crying. X swore under his breath and lowered his cannon, Zero doing the same a bit less quietly.

"Now, I'm going to talk to you. I am not making idle chatter. I am outlining for you exactly what the next few minutes are going to be. You, X and Zero, are going to stay where you are. Your little playmates are going to take a few steps forward and notice the large hole in the floor."

Lana and Geoffrey did, and they indeed noticed the large, four-sided shaft in the floor.

"Now, catch."

Danielle let out a muffled shriek as she was tossed forward into the abyss. All four Maverick Hunters surged forward, but Lana yelled, "I've got her! X, Zero, kick his ass!" She leapt into the hole, followed shortly by Geoffrey. X and Zero needed no second telling, leaping over the shaft and reaching the cloaked figure in a split second, grabbing the blanket and tearing it aside to reveal-

A barely functioning drone with lolling head and one arm. The optic lights blinked rapidly as it spoke.

"Look out behind you..."

They whirled. The ceiling was blasted apart, sending burning shrapnel in all directions. Both Maverick hunters leapt upwards, clearing the ceiling and landing on the roof of the building on either side of what was now a fairly large hole. Standing before them was a huge battle mech, a variant of the now defunct "Kangaroo" line with a set of four spinning blades one ach arm instead of hands, but this particular version boasted onyx black armor with gold trim, and a number of ominous looking boxes and panels on the arms, shoulders, and chest.

Oh, and Vile was piloting it.

The Maverick had changed significantly since his last appearance, returning to his old purple color scheme but now sporting bright blue and white highlights similar to his last armor style. The cannon on his right shoulder was larger and more threatening than ever, and the missile-firing pack on his left had increased significantly in size since his last form as well. All in all, it was a pretty intimidating package.

"Vile!?" X was incredulous, "What the hell are you doing here!? I blew you up! Again!"

"These things are for me to know and you to agonize over for many lonely nights, comforted only by your right hand," Vile replied. The blades on his mech's left arm spread open, revealing a recessed energy cannon that fired a thin red beam of light. X leapt over the beam easily enough, but the series of massive explosions that followed it sent him sprawling. Then Zero came rocketing at his mech from the right, beam saber out and whirling in a complicated series of maneuvers as the red reploid approached.

Vile simply pressed a button and the shoulders on his mech opened to reveal a set of force field generators, which hummed to life, forming a spherical energy shield around himself. Zero was going too fast to stop and slammed into the shield with a grunt and a crackle of energy before flying off in the opposite direction.

"Hee hee hee! This is the end, boy and girl! And yes I'm talking to you Zero, ya frickin' hippie. I'm riding the Strong Bad, most powerful anti-personnel mech ever devised! I'm going to stomp on your heads and-!"

"NOVA STRIKE!"

X hit the shield with a blast of light like a sun being born. There was a sharp crackle and a small explosion, and then he slammed into the Strong Bad's side. Unfortunately, he didn't have any juice left by that point and couldn't really do anything but fly when Vile whacked him aside, but the damage was done. The energy generating spheres in the Strong Bad's shoulders were shattered and broken, belching smoke.

"Okay, that just totally ruins my gloating, you inconsiderate asshole. Eat high-yield explosive ordinance."

The aforementioned boxes on the Strong Bad's forearms and shoulders opened up to reveal several banks of heat-seeking missiles, which fired with a blast of smoke and streaked through the sky towards a still disoriented X. Zero raced across the roof and tackled him to the side, barely avoiding the missiles that stitched a line of craters in the roof as they passed. Finally they rolled to a halt, mere feet away from the last smoking hole.

"Hah!" crowed Zero, "you missed!"

Strong Bad's chest panels opened, revealing more, larger banks packed tightly with bigger missiles.

"Aaaaawwww fugnuckers."

"I am vary L33t!"

Fwoom!

-

Danielle was not what you could call an easily frightened young lady. In fact, very little could be said to frighten her. Her friends had all told her to stay away from the scary homeless man, but she'd be darned if she was gonna let that poor fellow starve when she had a perfectly good sandwich. It was an act of mercy.

Of course, then she'd been kidnapped and used as bait by a homicidal Maverick reploid. We can all see the lesson here can't we children?

Anyhow, Danielle was not prone to being freaked out, but being tossed headfirst down a bottomless chasm can bring even a strong man to peeing his pants. So we'll kindly gloss over the fact that the poor girl needs a change of undies and move on to the part where Lana snatched her out of mid-air and hit the wall of the shaft with numbing force, screeching to a halt amid explosions of dust.

"It's okay, I've got you, its all gonna be okay, I'm just gonna climb back up now..."

"Go down go down go down GO DOWN-" Geoffrey shot past them, skidding down the wall on his heels. Lana spared a glance upwards, saw the incoming shower of flaming shrapnel that the roof's exploding had generated, and decided discretion was the better part of valor.

Luckily Danielle's bladder was empty now.

The two reploids hit the floor of the shaft with twin explosions of dust before leaping aside into the room that the shaft opened up into, escaping the ball of fire and metal and wood fragments that hit immediately after they did. Everything was quiet for a moment as they lay there, panting.

"Well!" said Lana as she sat up and began untying and comforting a hysterical little girl. "That could have gone much worse. You okay Geoffrey?"

"Hark, luv, I do not believe we are entirely alone."

"Oh great, he's British. What the hell is it with British Maverick Hunters?"

Out of the shadows stalked a huge reploid clad in layers of heavy, medieval style armor, deep blue in color and richly trimmed with gold and silver. In his hand he wielded a battle axe that was at least as tall as Geoffrey.

"Hey!" Geoffrey was downright insulted. "What the hell is that supposed to mean, insulting my heritage and then walking up like a great clanking Sir Lancelot, you bloody hypocrite!?"

"I'm French, you son of a hamster."

"Oh, well that just makes EVERYTHING better."

Geoffrey's saber had fallen off of him in the fall and was now lying in the dust at his feet. He calmly kicked it upwards and caught it, igniting the weapon into a four-foot blade of red plasma-y death.

"Ooh, mine's actually made of energy instead of metal, which went out in the sixteenth century. I'm gonna stomp a mudhole in your ass."

The armored Maverick's axe blade split in half, revealing a long crystal in the center, which began glowing, covering the entire axe head in writhing, violent green energy. Geoffrey wilted a little.

"Oh. Well, I suppose that's only fair."

"Indeed."

"I'm Geoffrey, by the way."

"Philip, charmed."

They leapt towards each other, swinging their weapons in great arcs. Beam saber connected with energy-charged axe blade and there was an explosion of sparks. Hey, that rhymes, thought Geoffrey as he flew backwards from the force of the impact and slammed into the far wall.

Lana sat, watching helplessly at the combat unfolding before her. She COULD help, of course, she was higher ranked than Geoffrey and could probably do a better job. Unfortunately, Danielle was clinging to her and sobbing pretty hard, and she didn't dare think what would happen to the girl if she just left her to the further unknown terrors of the room. She'd bet a week's salary Sir Philip d'Maverick wasn't the only surprise waiting for them in there.

Philip followed up his initial assault with a full-out charge. Geoffrey leapt straight up and over, landing behind the larger reploid. Philip skidded to a halt just before hitting the wall and whirled, swinging his axe in a horizontal arc. Geoffrey anticipated the move and leapt over it as well, bringing his saber down in a double-handed strike. Philip raised his gauntlet and caught the furious blade, heaving it back and hurling Geoffrey away. Geoffrey landed on his feet and skidded to a halt, just in time for Philip to come charging at him again, axe aimed at the hunter's neck.

Geoffrey simply raised his saber in front of his eyes, which were abruptly glowing as red as the blade. Philip didn't like that one bit and slid to a stop immediately before a blast of flaming red energy sent him flying.

The hunter was engulfed. Raw fire rose about him, outlining his body in the near darkness, but he was not consumed. The crosshilts on his beam saber lengthened, splitting at the ends to curve upwards and downwards, and the energy blade disappeared like a candle blown out by the wind, revealing a broad blade of gleaming metal.

"I don't give a shit about your light show," Philip growled. "Get him!"

Out of the shadows leapt three mechanical wolves, their gold-trimmed blue armor a reflection of their master's, eyes glowing green as his fearsome axe. With a howl they rushed at Geoffrey, who raised his sword above his head. Fire flashed and shot out from the blade in three streams of pure destruction, striking the wolves. There were three muffled explosions, and they fell to the floor in charred, broken pieces.

Lana and Philip stared, utterly confused. What sorcery was this?

"WYVERN STRIKE!"

The sword struck the ground, and where it touched there sprang up a roiling pillar of flame that coalesced into the image of a great roaring dragon. With a mythic shriek it spread its wings and shot forward, slammed into Philip, and bore him into the far wall with a terrific crash and an explosion of dusty wood and mortar. Seconds later it was all over but the flaming.

Lana and Danielle stared at the wreckage for a long moment, then turned back to Geoffrey, who was calmly slipping his beam saber back into his coat, any sign of its transformation gone. Abruptly, he turned to them with a giddy grin, spreading his arms theatrically.

"Ladies, I present to you, the winner and STILL champion, Geoffrey! No photography please, you'll just get my bad side in this lighting."

"Geoffrey... what... how...?"

"Oh, that? A bit of puffery on my part, I fear. All smoke and mirrors you understand, just to prop up the reputation and perhaps get me a little more action with the ladies, eh? Eh?"

"Buh... buh..."

"I can understand if you're speechless, really, it happens. No need to do anything untoward in front of the youngin', I can wait until we get back..."

"Behind you, you moron!"

Geoffrey whirled just in time to see a much charred and battered Philip rise to his feet with a mighty roar and hurl his battleaxe in Geoffrey's general direction. Before he had a chance to draw his saber Lana had already converted arm to cannon and squeezed off a shot, impacting with the blade and sending it hurtling in the opposite direction. Philip barely had time to say "Aw poop" before his weapon buried itself in his skull and pinned him to the wall.

"...right, well, I've gone and soiled myself proper now. Let's go see how the commanders are doing, shall we?"

"Yes, let's."

-

"Oooh, look at all the FIRE..."

Vile leaned back in the Strong Bad's seat and stretched. Ahh, this was the life. A big, sturdy mech underneath you, your enemies roasting at your feet, the smell of molten metal...

Creeeeaaaak!

"What the hell?"

The Strong Bad was starting to list to the side. Vile leaned over and looked down at the mech's left foot, which was starting to sink into the corrugated metal roof.

"Hm, maybe I shouldn't have fired those missiles quite so indiscriminately..."

Cree-ee-ee-ee-eeEEONK!

"Aaaaiieee!"

KER-SLAM!

A three-storey fall will do wonders where a plasma cannon might have otherwise proven less than effective. The Strong Bad's left leg snapped right in half, and the other one didn't looking much better.

"Damnit, I TOLD him not to use cheap foreign parts. Those Japanese loafing slack-for-nothings wouldn't know high quality titanium if you jammed a burning rod of it up their collective asses!"

"So tell me, exactly who is 'he'?"

"Is he the reason you're back on your feet and making life miserable for us again?"

X and Zero landed on opposite side of the Strong Bad, arm cannons out and charging. Vile swore and hit the controls, rotating the mech's arms around to fire its arm lasers at the hunters. They simply dashed forward to avoid the resulting explosions and sent a pair of plasma bursts into the barrels of the weapons, blowing off both of the mech's arms.

"Oh, fine, be that way."

Vile leapt out of the now useless mech and fired his shoulder-mounted weapons. The ground immediately in front of Zero exploded with the impact of a minimissle, throwing the crimson wonder into a far wall. A stream of crackling blue lightning struck X square in the chest, slamming him into the floor and pinning him there. Vile laughed as he alighted next to the stricken hunter and knelt, aiming his shoulder cannon directly at his face.

"I could just stomp on your neck and snap the power cable to your brain, but I prefer the idea of hitting you with a continuous burst of energy until your entire CNS fries like Old McDonald's crappy ass food..."

"RAIJINGEKI!"

Vile swore as Zero's lightning-charged saber lashed out and struck him hard in the side, hurling him up and away from X. With a roar, X tore his way free of Vile's stun blast and leapt to his feet, teeth gritted and arm cannon charging.

Vaile hauled himself upright and glanced back and forth between the two Maverick Hunters. They were clearly not in good moods.

"Uh, would it help if I said I took care of the kid?"

X and Zero remained largely impassive.

"Aw come on, I even fed her!"

X grimaced. "Oh you sick son of a bitch, she's gonna need therapy for years now..."

"Wha? What are you... oh Jesus Christ that's sick! I gave her a hamburger you bastard!"

Zero brandished his beam saber. "Look, we're busy, so I'll make this quick. Tell us who's been resurrecting known Mavericks, apparently starting with yourself, and maybe it won't hurt so bad."

Vile appeared to consider it. "Hmmm, tough choice. Here, I'll give you a hint. He wears purple."

Zero turned to X. "About how many reploids are registered with purple armor?"

"A few thousand, last I checked."

"I didn't say it was a particularly GOOD hint! Alright alright, here's a good one. He did something else for me besides rebuilding my ass."

X raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"He connected me to the teleporter network, bitches."

He disappeared with a flash of purple light. Zero's jaw went slack with an "N-oungh!" sort of noise. X proceeded to beat himself in the head with his fists.

"Well cripes, you two look like you've had a bad day."

Geoffrey walked in out of a hallway, glancing around at the damage they'd done to the walls and floor in the course of the battle. He whistled as he saw the ruined mech.

"A Strong Bad! Not a bad choice. Pity 'BSU' magazine only gave it a 3.4. Poor structural integrity. Who was piloting it?"

"Vile," supplied Zero. X seemed to be having a rather violent argument with himself.

"Oh dear. That could cause problems. He get away, I take it?"

"Yup. We'll trace his teleporter signal when we get back but there's a billion ways to mask that... where's Lana and the girl?"

"Lana took 'er back to base. She'll be reunited with her folks in less than an hour."

"Ah, that's some good news, then. You ready to go X?"

"AH KEEL HIM DEAD!"

"Probably a good idea to give him a few minutes," said Geoffrey.

"Probably."

-

In the warehouse basement, Vile was taking stock of his inventory.

"Hmmm, I have two mechs left, a year's supply of ammo, an extra suit of armor, that fancy new stuff I got off Ebay, my Boba Fett costume... Hmmm. Damn hunters set my graham crackers on fire, though. What the hell where they doing setting shit on fire down- hello."

He blinked as he observed Philip's massive frame, still pinned to the wall thanks to the blade that had cut his head almost in half. As he watched, the corpse finally dislodged itself and slumped to the ground, a fresh flow of circulatory fluids adding to the already impressive puddle on the ground.

"Odd. I don't remember having one of those."

"Consider it a gift."

Vile whirled, shoulder cannon ready. Standing before him was a tall figure clad in a billowing dull black coat. Despite the looseness of the garment, it was easy to tell that the figure was almost skeletally thin, wearing pale blue armor wrapped in lengths of steel chain. Its face was hidden by its helmet, but the faceplate formed a deep, dark hollow, like a mouth opened in an eternal wail. Its helmet had eye sockets, but no optics could be seen beyond them.

"And just who the in the name of Sigma's bald ass are you?" asked Vile.

"No-one," the figure replied. It turned and walked away, fading into the shadows.

What was interesting was that there was no place for it to go. There wasn't a door or a corridor of any kind there. But it wasn't hiding in the dark; Vile's visor would have continued to detect its presence. It simply ceased to be.

"Wow," he murmured, "that couldn't have been a lead-in to a larger plot twist at ALL."

-

X opened the door to Alia's apartment with a sigh, not even bothering to turn on the light as he slumped in. "Honey, I'm home!"

"Did you save the day?"

"Yes, but the bad man made nasty insinuations about my sex life."

"I suppose we'll just have to prove him wrong then. Guess what I'm wearing."

"My boxers?"

Something made of cloth flew out of the bedroom and hit him in the face.

"Guess again."

"I love this game."


	2. Beaten

This says chapter 2, but I actually wrote it first. Then I got the idea for an intro so now the hunters know Vile's back, and interject some mystery as to what he's doing here, and some other stuff. Also wanted Argo to have one more appearance. Anyhow, this takes place a few months after the first part and I hope it doesn't suck.

---

Beep beep!

X blinked as his pager went off. Drat. He'd just been about to settle down with his favorite book. Hopefully this wasn't anything important.

"X here. What's up?"

"It's Argo, sir. He's in trouble."

X raised an eyebrow. Argo was one of the older members of his unit, a large fellow with a profound love of smashing things to pulp. What could he have possibly gotten into that would require X's direct attention?

"What seems to be the trouble?"

"Ah, Vile seems to be wiping Times Square with his ass..."

X was out of the room before his book hit the ground.

-

"You see, THIS is why I generally stick to assassinations."

Argo wasn't exactly what you would call a wimp. At least, you wouldn't tell him that to his face, because he was over six feet tall and had a face that looked like it had been beaten against a few brick walls and come out little worse for the wear. When he wore his heavy bronze and blue armor he was a truly intimidating sight, especially when he transformed his right arm into a truly fearsome plasma cannon. Few Mavericks cared to go up against him alone, especially with his reputation for never backing down from a fight.

Currently he was running for his life as the street behind him was torn apart by a series of blue-white explosions.

"I mean, it's not that I mind just slumming it and kicking your ass. Fun is fun, after all. But there's just no challenge. When I do an assassination, it's someone important, not some gutless peon like you, so I'm pretty much guaranteed a good time. The only way I'm gonna salvage tonight is if I can get enough cash off your corpse to buy a few beers."

Vile strolled down the street fairly unhurriedly, talking conversationally as he chased his startled prey. His deep purple armor seemed to absorb the streetlights, turning him into a walking shadow, while the bright blue and white trim reflected the same luminescence like highway stripes. Over his right shoulder hung his trademark shoulder-mounted cannon, a fearsome thing of chrome and blue steel. Mounted on his left was a box-like structure that seemed to house minimissiles of some sort, and it was these missiles that he was currently using to disrupt traffic as he chased down Argo.

"You've got enough on you for a beer or two, right bitch? I'm sure you've got an emergency stash somewhere for when the cravings hit real good."

Argo finally skidded to a halt and whirled, raising his plasma cannon.

"SHUT UP!"

Vile sighed and casually backhanded the blood-red plasma blast, shaking his head in mock pity.

"No no no, you're just not doing it right. You're not SELF-RIGHTEOUS enough. Make me hate you, bitch!"

Vile's left eye gleamed like a demonic ruby as he grabbed his shoulder cannon and fired, paralyzing energy arcing across the ground like lightning and slamming into Argo's chest, pinning him to a lamppost. The huge Maverick Hunter gritted his teeth and squirmed, trying to escape. Vile chuckled as he closed in.

"Welcome to my parlor, I say to you, 'cause I'm supposed to spout something clichéd as I close in. I never was much good at dramatics. Oh well, I DO like the death-lines..."

His right gauntlet opened up, revealing a recessed rocket launcher. Argo's eyes widened in terror as the helmeted Maverick raised the weapon to his face. Vile's voice grew deep and haggard as he spat a final line at his prey.

"Eat shit and die you piece of-"

BLAM!

Vile was cut off as a burst of golden plasma hit the ground where he'd been standing a fraction of a second before he somersaulted straight backwards. Whirling, his eye focused on the interloper with a hate-filled glare.

"Figures they'd send you."

X leveled his arm cannon at Vile's face as he approached. "Yeah, well, I've kicked your ass so often, they figure I have enough practice at it. So why'd you come out of hiding purple people eater? Miss me?"

"The music of your girly screams has been gone from my auditory receptors for far too long," replied Vile. He waved backwards to Argo as he sauntered over to X. "Don't run away now, bitch. I'll draw and quarter you later."

Argo snarled, but couldn't break the writhing energy ropes that held him in place. X shot forward, his arm cannon blazing as he rapid-fired plasma bolts. Vile leapt straight upwards and held up his arms, fire blossoming from his wrists as rockets arced through the sky towards his scurrying white–armored prey. X skidded to a halt, the blue trim on his armor turning purple as his plasma bolts switched to green laser beams, blasting the ordinance out of the sky with pinpoint accuracy, filling the air with shrapnel and smoke.

And then Vile came rocketing downwards out of the smoke like a comet falling to earth. X barely had time to bring his cannon to bear before the Maverick barreled into him, driving him back and through the street, sparks flying and blacktop buckling beneath his boots. Neon green lasers sprayed across the road, but Vile's shoulder grinding into his chest made aiming impossible, even with his weapon's advanced targeting sensors. Then Vile's hand wrapped around his throat in a bruising choke hold and his back slammed into a concrete wall, his feet dangling over the ground.

X's arm snapped up, and a green target sight lit up the Maverick's visor just between his eyes. In the same instant, Vile's shoulder cannon leveled at the hunter's face, the black recesses of the barrel as dark as the road to eternity. Both reploids froze.

"Well golly gee," said Vile, "THIS looks familiar."

"Yeah," said X, "If I recall correctly, the next part is where you die."

He fired his boot thrusters. Both their weapons discharged with a Whumpf! of sound, accompanied by the sharp crack and sizzle of energy striking and melting metal, the electric hum of Vile's stun blast, and a sharp cry from X. The stun blast struck him in the left shoulder, numbing his arm down its entire length. Vile spun away with a curse, tearing off the ruined remains of his shoulder-mounted missile sprayer. X continued dashing upwards for as long as his boots held out, then planted his feet hard against the wall and leapt, bouncing off the building on the opposite side, zigzagging between the two sides of the street all the way to the top of one of the buildings. Vile followed a second later, landing on the edge of the roof just in time for X to fire a great ball of azure energy at his face.

Vile held out his hands and the plasma blast slammed into an invisible barrier, swelling against it briefly before ricocheting upwards and disappearing into the night sky. Vile hissed softly as smoke rose from his wrists, accompanied by some nasty-looking sparks. X grinned humorlessly and began recharging his cannon, an aura of incandescent blue energy rising around his body.

"You keep coming up with new tricks..."

"Yeah yeah, I'm just full of surprises and all that shit. Eat fire."

A smaller, secondary barrel on Vile's shoulder cannon lit up and roared, sending a jet of flames across the roof. X hopped to the side and fired, a blast of searing blue energy tearing towards Vile. The Maverick leapt to the side, sending another arc of fire at X, who leapt straight up, right into the path of Vile's blue lightning.

"GAH!"

Vile chuckled as X hit the roof, trapped in a writhing net of electric energy. "Ah, I live for that girly little squeal of yours X. I imagine you must make the same noise when Zero sticks it in your ass. Of course, imagining that makes me want to stab myself in the eyes. It's a catch 22 really."

"F-f-f-f-fuck you!"

"Ew. No tha-ARGH!"

Vile stumbled forward, the charred remains of his shoulder cannon scattering across the roof. Behind him, Argo smiled and steadied his arm cannon as power built back up in the chamber. "This is for my wife, you son of a bitch."

Vile stood straight as a rod as the blow struck him between the shoulder blades. There was a sharp report of energy on metal and a puff of smoke, but otherwise no reaction. Slowly, he turned to regard Argo, burning red eye narrowed into a slit of pure murder, ignoring the small crater in his back, and apparently deaf to X's struggles. Argo stared him down, cannon raised, teeth gritted.

Vile took a step, and then another, and a third, eerily silent. Argo's teeth ground together and he took a step back. His arm fell, trembling, to his side, and his eyes widened in terror.

"No... no, get away from me."

Vile was on him like a hawk pouncing on a rat. Argo turned to run and found out he had no room left. He tripped over the roof edge and fell, with sickening slowness, towards the street below.

Vile's hand clamped onto his ankle, jarring him to a halt in mid-air. Argo looked up at him in horror. "Wh... what...?"

"Vile, no!" X struggled to rise to his feet, to bring his arm cannon to bear. Even after years of battle, of getting used to pain, of bearing unbearable exhaustion, he still couldn't break through Vile's stun blasts. Not right away. He fought it every second, and still it held him.

"Oh, don't be a complete idjit," Vile sneered, staring down at his prey. "We both know I'm gonna drop him, I just want to get the melodrama out of my system. Besides, your friend here made a rather unfair accusation against me. What did you say about me and your wife, bitch?"

Argo snarled as he struggled to free his leg from Vile's grasp. "I don't know what the fuck you did to her, infected her with your damn virus or some shit, but I swear I'll kill you for it!"

"So simple. So stupid. I almost feel bad about this, killing you before you realize what's really going on..."

He released Argo's boot. The Maverick Hunter fell with a scream that was cut hair-raisingly short by the unforgiving asphalt.

"Almost. Ooh, he might have survived that if I hadn't dropped him on his head. Nasty."

"GrrrrrAAAH!" With a final herculean effort X shredded the ropes of electricity, freeing himself. He snarled like an animal as he raised his arm cannon. "You bastard!"

"Oh, go eat a dick, X."

X fired, but it was a futile gesture- Vile disappeared in a flash of purple light. The Maverick Hunter let out an impotent scream of rage and slammed his fist into the roof, doing little more than dirtying his knuckles. With a sigh, he rose to his feet and walked to the edge of the roof, daring a look over the edge.

Damn. Even a Reploid couldn't survive losing that much blood.

X skidded down the side of the building and alighted on the ground and watched as the paramedics arrived and mopped up the mess as best they could. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Alia giving him a sad smile. He wordlessly pulled her into a hug, which she returned.

"It's not your fault," she whispered.

"I know," he said, "but that doesn't make it any easier."

Alia pulled away and took him by the hand. "Come on," she said, "his girlfriend's waiting. She should hear it from you."

X nodded wearily and followed. Alia led him to a small ground-level apartment two blocks away. The door and most of the front wall had been blown out, and inside two policemen were questioning a reploid woman who was sitting on the sofa. X recognized her from the few times Argo had brought her to the base, a pretty, lively girl named Cassy. She had short, bouncy blonde curls and a sunny disposition, normally. Right now she looked fairly forlorn, and an ugly purple bruise was forming over her left eye where the tiny fluid capillaries beneath her synthetic flesh had been ruptured. The policemen spoke to her for a few more moments before turning and leaving, shaking their heads. X walked hesitantly up to the girl, carefully avoiding a pile of clothing in the middle of the floor.

"Uh, Cassy?"

She looked up at him dully. "Yes?"

He swallowed and rubbed his hand backwards over his helmet, a habit he'd picked up from not being able to run his hands through his hair. "You probably know I'm MegaMan X, I was your boyfriend Argo's unit commander..."

"Wife."

X blinked. "Sorry?"

She looked at him, but not AT him, like she was staring at something behind his head. "We're married."

"But you can't-"

"I know it's not legally binding. We didn't care. We were young, in love all that-" She stopped short, and then focused on him for the first time. "Wait, was? He get kicked out?"

"Uh, no." X grimaced, trying to say it as gently as possible. "Your, uh, husband was fighting one of the most formidable Mavericks of all time, and I did my best, but..."

"He's dead!?"

X was taken aback. Cassy was staring at him, eyes wide, mouth agape. It was almost the reaction he'd expect, except something was... off. Cassy didn't have the look of a woman crushed by the death of her lover. She seemed... eager. Almost relieved.

"Y... yes, Vile killed him..."

"Oh thank fucking CHRIST." Cassy fell back against the couch, heaving a deep sigh. X and Alia traded looks. They were both confused as hell.

"Um, Cassy..."

She nodded. "I know, I know, I'm happy my husband is dead, it must be the shock. I'm sorry you lost a soldier commander, but if you'd really known him... oh god..."

She curled up on herself, her shoulders suddenly heaving with sobs. Alia sat down beside her and laid an arm gently around her. Cassy fell against the other woman and cried into her shoulder. After a moment she managed to get herself under control and looked back up at them, wiping her eyes.

"I guess I owe you an explanation..."

X and Alia traded uncomfortable looks. "Well, I'd like to know, but if you don't feel up to it..."

She shook her head. "No, someone needs to know. It just... it's kind of a long story..."

X sat down on a nearby chair. "Take your time."

Cassy let out a deep sigh, looking down at the floor. "Right. Well, I guess I'll start with the wedding. It was six months ago, around Christmas..."

-

Legally, reploid marriage carries no weight. Nonetheless, many reploids who wish to show their devotion for each other indulge in ceremonies, some religious, some not, that symbolize their devotion to one another. Argo and Cassy had one such ceremony, standing under a sleeping apple tree in the snow and speaking vows that carried no legal weight, but represented instead the solemn binding of their hearts. It was beautiful and romantic.

It was also proved just about as worthless to them as it did to the law.

"Honey? I thought you were gonna make dinner tonight?"

Cassy hummed to herself as she tapped away on the computer. For her weekly column she was doing a segment on being a Maverick Hunter's wife. A subject that needed to be explored more often, she thought.

"I got pretty busy today so I ordered a pizza, it should be here in a few minutes."

Argo appeared in the doorway, frowning. "But I wanted you to cook today; you know I love your meatloaf."

Cassy shrugged, not looking up from the keyboard. "I know honey, and I'm sorry, but I just got caught up. I'll make it later this week. I promise."

Argo's frown deepened. "Sorry? That's it?"

This time she turned, frowning a little on her own. "What? You expect me to drop to my knees and beg for forgivness?"

The tendons in Argo's neck drew tighter. "I expect you to show some respect to your husband."

Cassy's brow wrinkled and she turned back to her work. "I don't know what you expect, honey. Yeah I'd like to cook for you, but my job's my job, and I have a deadline to meet. I'll make meatloaf when I get the chance."

Cassy had never been that close to a plasma shot before. At first she thought lightning had struck somewhere nearby, the concussion of noise in her ears was so loud, the light so blinding. Then she smelled her singed hair, and her optics adjusted, and she saw the black mark on the wall where her computer's monitor had been not two seconds ago, and her mouth fell open.

"A... argo...?"

"So now you've got time."

She whirled to ask him what the hell was going on, but he'd already left the room. She was about to get up and follow, when she realized her fuel pump was beating at least twice as fast as normal.

Was she actually... afraid?

No... no, Argo was just tired. He'd been pulling some pretty late shifts lately, he just needed some time to relax, that was all. She cast a worried glance at the remains of the computer, but there wasn't much she could do about that. She'd call her boss and tell him the computer was down, he'd understand. One missed week wasn't a huge deal.

She supposed she might as well make that meatloaf, now...

-

The nurse had an odd look on her face as she treated Cassy's black eye and cut lip. It wasn't a "how in the world did you do this falling down?" look like she'd gotten from the last two nurses. It was more of a "I know how you really did this" look. It scared her. She didn't want anyone to know how it had happened, she didn't want anything to happen that would make Argo angry at her.

She didn't want anyone to know she was letting him do these things to her.

"You don't have to protect him, you know."

Cassy started. "W-wha?"

The nurse was giving her a hard look, but she was smiling in what was supposed to be a friendly manner. "I saw the guy you came in with. Nobody could blame you, he's twice your size. But you can't let this go on; it's the twenty-second century, for godssakes! Get some help. Tell the police. Tell SOMEBODY, just don't let it continue."

Cassy stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "R... right. Sure. Whatever you say."

The nurse looked at her skeptically, but didn't say anything else. She finished fixing her and sent her on her way. Cassy paid the bill and went out to the waiting room. Argo was leaning against the wall waiting for her.

"Feeling better?"

"Y... yes."

"Good. Now we'll never have to worry about that happening again, right?"

"Yes! Yes of course!"

"Good. Now let's go home and have sex."

"...sure."

-

Run, Cassy, run!

Oh god, since when did she start paraphrasing quotes from bad twentieth century movies to herself?

Panting heavily, Cassy skidded to a halt and threw herself into a conveniently located dark alley. Hiding behind the dumpster she huddled against the wall, gasping for breath, her fuel pump beating wildly as she tried her hardest to be quiet. She could hear the drum tap of metallic boots on the sidewalk approaching... then a moment of silence.

"Cassy? Honey? Come out, I just want to talk."

The last time they'd "talked" he'd fractured her jaw.

The footsteps started back up and continued on in another direction. Cassy heaved a sigh of relief.

"Is it safe?"

She sat straight up, heart pounding in fear. The voice had come from somewhere in the shadows of the alley. It definitely wasn't Argo's voice.

"Wh-what?"

"Is it safe?"

"I guess?"

"It rubs the lotion in its skin or else it gets the hose again."

Cassy tried to become one with the wall. Great, escape from abusive husband only to run into a homicidal maniac. Her day was just getting better and better.

"It doesn't talk precious. Maybe it likes... riddles?"

"I... I can handle riddles."

"Riddle me this, riddle me that..."

A cold metal hand closed on the collar of her sweater and hauled her upright against an armored body over a foot taller than she was. She kicked her feet, trying to escape, when a single glowing red eye blazed in her face. She stopped kicking as realization crept over her, draining the circulatory fluid from her cheeks.

"What the FUCK are you doing in my alley?"

"H-hiding?"

Vile blinked, then dropped her on her bottom with a thump. "Oh, that's okay then."

Cassy winced and sat up, rubbing her bruised backside. She looked up at Vile, who was staring down at her wordlessly. All of a sudden he bent down towards her. She scrambled backwards nervously, running into the alley wall in the process.

"Wh-what are you looking at?"

"You're bleeding."

Cassy hurriedly tried wipe the circulatory fluids from her face. She'd been lucky, this time, and he'd only clipped her nose before she got away. Unfortunately, the stuff didn't seem to want to just wipe off; she only succeeded in smearing it around on her face.

"Heh. Stop it kid, you're turning me on."

Cassy froze, staring up at Vile in horror. "I... I'm getting... blood all over my..."

"And it's irresistibly cute! Oh, don't look at me like that, you and everyone else in the megacity system knows I'm a sociopath. Here."

He handed her a handkerchief. She stared at him for a second, then, slowly, as though expecting him to bite her, took it and started cleaning her face.

"Why... are you being nice to me?"

The Maverick straightened up and shrugged, which looked really odd with his huge shoulder-mounted weapons. "Why not? You're a reploid. You're not a Maverick Hunter. What possible reason do I have for hurting you?"

She blinked. "You need a reason?"

"I'm a very selective sociopath."

Cassy sighed and leaned against the wall. "I wish everyone was as selective as you."

"Hmm, I sense a long story here. My first instinct is to not care and leave you to your fate, since I really don't. But you're hot so I figure I might as well stick around long enough for the comfort sex." He squatted down beside her, doing his level best to look interested. Cassy frowned at him.

"You're not going to get any comfort sex, I'm married."

"So why don't you have your husband beat up whoever gave you a bloody nose?"

"My husband's the one who did this to me."

"OH."

He straightened back up. "Well, that all makes sense now. Hmph. Sad."

She blinked. "Sad? That he's beating me?"

He shook his head. "Let me ask you something. If any other man hit you, what would you do?"

She frowned. "I'd kick his ass, but this is different, he's-"

"-your husband, and you love him, blah blah blah."

"He's strong enough to take me apart with his bare hands, nevermind the arm cannon. I mean, he's a Maverick Hunter for godssake..."

"He's a... hehehehehehehe.... Hahahahahaha!!! Oh god, that's hilarious!"

Cassy blinked. "What's so funny about it?"

Vile was chuckling so hard that his shoulder shook. "Hehehehehe, it's just so fitting... not only has he betrayed his race by turning on those who would save him from subjugation, he breaks his own vows and turns on the one he swore to take care of. That's just priceless."

He turned and began to walk back into the shadows of the alley. Cassy scrambled to her feet. "H-hey! Wait! You can't just leave me! What am I supposed to do!?"

"If you're expecting help from me, you're more pathetic than I thought. It's not my problem. Go to the police or something."

Cassy stood helplessly as he left. Great, what the hell WAS she thinking? Asking Vile for help with anything was like asking Satan not to eat kittens. Still, he had a point. Argo couldn't possibly hurt her if she had police protection, right? When the nurse had suggested it, she'd still had some hope that everything would work out, but now...

-

"Don't worry ma'am, I'll write up the papers for you right away. We won't let this creep hurt you again."

Cassy heaved a deep sigh of relief. The officer she was speaking to was kind and understanding, and had been nothing but helpful. She now felt a glimmer of hope. It was going to be okay! They were going to help her!

"Cassy! THERE you are!"

She let out a cry and leapt out of her chair as Argo approached, his face carefully arranged in his "I'm being polite in public but I'm going to beat your ass when we get home" expression. Cassy hid behind the officer she'd been talking to. "That's him, that's him! Don't let him hurt me, please!"

"...Argo?"

"Hey, Fred, how's it going?"

Cassy felt a sinking feeling like a whirlpool opening up in her stomach. Argo and the officer greeted each other like old friends. They were old friends, most of the Maverick Hunters had contacts in the police department, it only made sense. Argo jerked a thumb towards Fred's office, all the while keeping an eye carefully trained on Cassy.

"Hey, why don't we go to your office? I can explain everything."

"Uh, I guess so. Excuse us ma'am."

Cassy wanted to run. Every fiber of her being screamed for her to run. But Argo left the office door carefully open, watching her, that eye boring into her soul like a drill. She was rooted to the spot until they came back out. Now Fred was eyeing her with suspicion, like she was the one at fault here.

"I'm really sorry about this Fred, it's nothing serious, just a little electrical imbalance..."

"It's fine, I'm just sorry I almost had to write you up! You make sure she gets to a therapist, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, don't you worry."

His hand closed around her arm with enough force to bruise. She didn't dare cry out. She was silent for the entire walk home. So was he, but it was a different kind of silence. The silence of a volcano before it erupts. When they got home he shoved her through the door. Not taking any chances. The click of the lock was like a round being loaded into the chamber of a gun.

"You went... to the POLICE... you stupid BITCH."

She didn't care anymore. "So what are you gonna do about it?"

-

The wind blew stronger on top of the apartment building. It was a little cold, but it felt good against the bruises and lacerations on her face. She'd have taken a shower to soothe other places on her body, but Argo had wanted to wash the circulatory fluid off. She had about half an hour before she needed to be back in the apartment, or he'd come looking for her.

"You know, the dark purple blotches of damaged skin really bring out your eyes."

Cassy wasn't particularly surprised when she looked up and found Vile standing on the edge of the roof beside her. He started backwards when she looked at him full on.

"Eesh! He did a number on you! What happened, you try to hold out on him?"

"He raped me the first time I tried that. This time he got all pissy because I did a little thing like trying to get a restraining order. I didn't realize the officer on duty was a friend of his, though. Silly me."

"Jebus, it's like a bad J-lo movie."

"A what?"

"Nevermind. Listen, this seriously fucks with my brooding evil maniac image, but I can help."

Cassy sighed and stared down at the street, twenty floors below. "You're gonna push me off?"

"Did you come up here to jump?"

"I thought about it."

"Pfft, that's the pussy way to do it. Here."

She blinked as he put something in her range of vision. Reaching out, she found herself holding a large handgun.

"You want me to shoot myself instead?"

"Jesus you're dense. Him. Shoot HIM."

She stared at the gun, her breath caught in her throat.

"It's up to you. I could just gut the guy, but what would that prove? You fuck up with one guy and then go on to another? You have to solve this yourself. And if this is the only way... well, it's not like you ENJOY getting battered, is it?"

-

It was a week later. He'd been nice to her, up until now. He usually was. He'd take her to the hospital, then go shopping, get her something nice, dinner at a fancy restaurant. Make her feel like queen of the world. Except for the look in his eyes. That implicit threat. After a week or so, things would start to build up, the little things she couldn't help. That morning he told her to clean the damn house or he'd put a hole in the wall with her skull.

He'd actually said it! He'd never had the balls to actually say it before. Good for him. It made everything so much easier.

Argo got home late. He'd had to take down some Maverick drones on the east side and he was tired and cranky. So when he opened the door to find a pile of dirty laundry on the floor of the living room he was naturally somewhat upset.

"Cassy... what the FUCK is this?"

Cassy just sat on the couch, head down, not looking at him. He snarled and kicked the pile, scattering clothing about the room.

"Goddamn you, ANSWER ME!"

She pointed the gun at his heart.

"Goodbye."

She fired three shots, sending miniscule blasts of hot pink plasma across the room and directly into his chest. He'd taught her how to fire a gun. Ironic, really. Being a reploid, she also had near perfect aim.

Of course, the tiny pellets of energy still bounced off his breastplate, doing little more than singing his paint job. She paled. He did just the opposite. There was murder in his voice as he strode across the room, ripped the weapon out of her hand, and crushed it.

"You fucking cunt, I'm gonna break you open! The coroner'll have to do DNA testing to find out who you were!"

He struck her across the face with the back of his hand, throwing her to the floor. She just laid there, her face expressionless. Praying it wouldn't hurt too much. At least after this, she would be free.

"I'M GONNA BREAK YOUR FUCKING SKULL YOU-"

The front wall exploded.

Argo whirled, eyes wide in rage. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"

"Dude, calm the hell down. Wipe the spittle off your chin, you look like a psycho."

Argo's jaws worked, but no sound came out. Vile calmly walked through the hole he'd made and began picking up the scattered clothes and putting them back in their pile.

"Honestly, I can't blame you for being a little annoyed, I mean, this is pretty shoddy housework. But breaking her skull? Jeez dude, even I don't use lines that corny."

Argo let out a roar and leapt forward, slamming his fist into the side of Vile's head. The Maverick didn't move for a second, then calmly straightened up, grabbed the hunter's arm, and flipped him into the street with a crash and a screech of metal on asphalt. Argo scrambled to his feet in time to see Vile aiming his shoulder cannon at his face.

"Run, bitch."

He ran.

Vile turned back to Cassy. "So what happened? You chicken out? Was it 'true love'?"

"The gun didn't hurt him at all, you bastard."

"...oh. Well, I guess if your heart's in the right place I can help a little. You mind?"

Cassy buried her head in her arms. "I don't care. I just... I just don't want him to hurt me anymore..."

"Don't worry. He's the one who's gonna hurt now."

He turned and walked out. Cassy started to cry.

-

Alia walked outside. It was drizzling slightly, now, but she didn't seem to notice aside from shielding the lighter with her hand as she lit a cigarette. She took a deep pull, then let out a heavy sigh. X walked up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I keep telling you those things'll kill you."

"I can get my filters replaced. Must I remind you that me with no nicotine means you with no nookie?"

"No ma'am. Do what you like, ma'am."

They stood in silence for a long time.

"You're not going to... charge her with anything, are you?" Alia asked.

"Jesus, no. If Vile wanted to help her out, that had to be a bad situation. She's been through enough without an arrest. Remind me to look up an officer Fred, though. He's going down."

"Will do."

There was another moment of silence. Then X laid his chin on Alia's shoulder and leaned his head against hers.

"If I ever tried to beat you, you'd put a bullet in my head, right?"

"Right after I put two in your crotch."

"Good, just checking."

-

Cassy hadn't moved from the couch for three hours. Finally she uncurled from her fetal position and laid out, staring at the ceiling. Then she spoke.

"Maybe it likes riddles, precious?"

"Hey! That's MY line!"

She sat up. A second later Vile slumped down beside her, leaning his head back in exhaustion. Cassy whistled as she fingered his damaged shoulder armor.

"I thought you said you'd hurt him now? You let him hurt you?"

"X did most of that. Your late husband was a pussy. He couldn't even handle a ten-storey fall."

"Eh, I guess all the armor wasn't any help in the end."

"Hehehe! Yeah! I like the irony."

They sat there in silence for a long moment. Then Cassy reached up and began poking under the chin of his helmet.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for a strap."

"There is none, it locks onto the sides of the chest armor. Here."

Vile pressed a hidden button on the side of his neck. There was a pair of loud clicks, and then he pulled the heavy helmet off. His raven black hair ruffled slightly in the breeze. He flinched when Cassy raised a hand to stroke the huge scar that marred the side of his face.

"You could get that fixed, you know."

"I kind of like it. It makes me feel tough."

She slid into his lap. He wrapped an arm around her and gently titled her chin upwards. She put an arm around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

"I find it remarkable that you're not worried about ME beating you."

"Next time I'll aim for the groin."

"Oh, so you're THAT kind of girl, eh? Naughty..."


	3. Murdered

Oh dear. I fear that this chapter is both hugesome and long and starting to develop... gasp... a plot! Oh dear god, I hope it doesn't drag out too terribly long. That would be just TERRIBLE... yeah. Thanks to Blissey for acknowledging that this fic exists and to Black Draco for offering to beta-read. Hope this tickles someone's fancy...

---

No mysterious villain hideout is truly complete without a pipe organ. It's just required. Sadly, most villains overlook this rule. Like Darth Vader. Vader never had a pipe organ. That would have been so cool, you know? He would have like, played it with his mind while he kicked Luke's ass. That would have been so awesome.

Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, pipe organs.

This particular villain has one.

The music was like a hammer covered in velvet. It pounded, it rose, it fell, and pounded again. Like waves striking your ears. It was beautiful.

The chamber the organ was held in was long and dark, like a cathedral with no pews, just a long, red-carpeted hall, and the dais at the end of it. A dark figure sat at the keyboard, completely obscured by a hooded inky black robe. Its hands, huge and skeletal, passed over the keys like dancing spiders.

There was a gust of cold wind, brushing delicately over the figure's cloak like the fingers of a lover. Slowly, the song came to a halt. The figure turned and cast pale green eyes over the hall behind him.

A second figure stood there, light blue armor wrapped with lengths of metallic chain, a dull black trench coat hanging limply on boney shoulders, hollow eyes as dark as bottomless wells.

"The second is awake," said the newcomer.

"Damn skippy," replied the musician.

-

The lab was pitch black. Except for the spot welder. Vile was inclined to be nervous about this- these were his innards that were being welded, after all, and he preferred the welder to have sufficient light. The doc said it had to be dark, though, so dark it was. Never argue with a guy who's holding a spot welder against your wrist.

"So word on the street is you've got yourself a girlfriend," said the doc. "How's that going for you?"

"She's remarkably frisky for a battered woman."

"You're a sick son of a bitch, you know that?"

"Hey, I'm not the one that beat her. Her ex was a Maverick Hunter, if you can believe that. So I killed him and she practically crawls into my pants. She's very good at it, I might add. I'm sort of liking this healthy relationship thing."

"Healthy?"

"Compared to my last few? Hell yes. Last chick I dated bit me half the time. So I broke her jaw."

"You're an inspiration to us all."

"I do try."

There was a long moment of silence. Then the doc finished welding and starting closing things up.

"Alright, I fitted you with new weapons and reloaded your rocket launchers. Your shields are fine, just the conductors got overloaded. Don't try to block something like that next time, just deflect it right away. Honestly, I'm surprised anything managed to short those things out, they should have stopped a hell of a lot more than most hunters are capable of dishing out."

Vile sat up and flexed his hands, making sure everything was in working order. "It wasn't just any hunter. The chick's husband went down pretty easily, X was the problem."

"Ah X. Always comes back to him, doesn't it? Amazing that such a little shrimp would cause anyone so much trouble."

"That's the point."

The doc blinked slowly. "Pardon?"

"It's one of the reasons X kicks everybody's ass, because everybody underestimates him, at least the first time. You look at him and sure, he's sort of mildly threatening, like a mean little dog, but he's still so cute and little and helpless. How could he possibly be so dangerous? Everyone else just had a string of bad luck, I can take him. And then Bam! He assrapes you with his plasma cannon. Little bitch."

"And that's your theory on what makes him so dangerous?"

"Fuck no. I said the first time. The second time I hit the little bastard with every piece of ordinance I had and he still whooped my ass. You gave me these upgrades, and I feel like god. That hunter was like, A ranked, and he was nothing to me. I could have killed him with one hand. And X still kicks my ass. There's something about him. When I figure out what that is... that's when he's fucked."

The doc chuckled. "And just how do you intend to find out?"

Vile snorted as he hopped off the examination table. "The same way I always do. I'll burn him. So far all it does is melt off the dross, but some day it'll be more than he can handle... it doesn't matter how I do it, I'll break him. Your idea doesn't even make sense. Being able to analyze his data or whatever doesn't make a bit of difference."

The doc shook his head as they began walking. "Don't be so quick to judge my theories. The only reason I resurrected you was to test him, to discover how he would react. The more data I have, the more I can learn. My experiments have already yielded results, as you know..."

"Yeah yeah, your little menagerie. Keep dreaming. Just because their data can't be analyzed like X and Zero doesn't mean they can't be beaten by them. Frankly, I find this a lot more interesting..."

Vile paused before a huge plastic tube, glowing faintly green. Inside, floating in some kind of bubbling solution were two reploids, obviously casualties of some great battle. The female was in better condition, still mostly intact, though her left hand was missing, and the skin had been torn from the right side of her face, the same side of her chest, and her left leg. The male was worse off, missing his entire left leg and both arms, the right at the shoulder and the left at the elbow. The only skin remaining on him was on the surviving right half of his face. Judging by the stature, the male reploid had been a tall, sturdy fellow, while the woman somewhat less so, but something about their faces and the color of their remaining hair made Vile think they might have been created to seem alike.

"Who are they, anyway?"

"Nobody you need to worry about. Remember our deal. I keep you alive, you keep X and Zero on their toes. I want to know what makes them tick."

"Alright, alright, don't get your little purple undershorts in a twist. I'll go bother 'em sometime tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tonight I have to see a woman about dinner and a movie."

"God, you've turned into a total pussy."

"At least I'm getting some."

-

"Our father, who art in heaven, whatever the heck your name is supposed to be, I come to you today praying about the food, God, because frankly its impossible to get any good grub around here anymore. I mean, used to be the chefs outdid themselves, and a Maverick Hunter could count on a quality meal every day of the week. And now we come to this, thin gnarly hamburgers with cold buns and tasteless fries. And the soda is like carbonated water. God, you've got to do something about this. I've saved the world for you like, four or five times now, I'm sure you can handle this little thing for me, just this once. I'm not asking for much God, work with me here! And lead us not into temptation, and help us to forgive Mavericks before we blow their heads in, and deliver me from Vile, because frankly he scares me. Amen."

X sighed and stared at the meager meal congealing on his tray. It didn't transform itself into a triple quarter pounder with cheese. Damn. He'd honestly thought that would work. It wasn't like he needed to eat anyway, but he'd gotten into the habit and now he couldn't get through his day without at least one meal. Of course, one meal a day like this could break him of the habit real quick, he was sure.

There was a clatter of metal and plastic and Zero sat down beside him, laying a similar trayful of food before him. "Wassup X?"

"God hates me, Zero."

"Bah. If God hated you why would he saddle you with that blonde bombshell who's been leading you around by your dick lately?"

X rolled his eyes. "Zero, you may find this hard to believe, but you get more than I do. Between our schedules Alia and I only rarely have time to enjoy a few uninterrupted hours alone."

Zero frowned. "But an established and reasonably sure source of poon, X. That is a rare commodity."

"Zero, every single female hunter on base, and some of those who aren't single, would give their left arm to spend a night with you."

The crimson one sighed and nodded. "Yes, this is true. I have ludicrous amounts of sex."

There was a moment of silence. This was actually the first time they'd talked about this, now that X thought about it. It seemed like an obvious thing to discuss, but Zero's sex life had never weighed particularly heavily on his mind. Now, though...

"How ludicrous are we talking?"

Zero sighed again, heavily. "You know those three girls from Unit 7? Spark, Cera, and Dalia?"

"Weren't they originally designed to be models?"

"They were, and they are spectacular pieces of engineering. They've also been waiting for me in my room every night this week."

X just didn't know how to respond to that. He sometimes had trouble keeping Alia satisfied, so he didn't see how it could be possible to deal with three women at once. Unless they took care of that themselves, in which case... my god, the implications. Then he noticed Zero staring morosely at his hamburger. Something about this didn't seem right.

"You seem remarkably depressed for having had a weeklong foursome. Don't tell me the food's that bad..."

"The food's terrible. The food's always terrible, but if it was that terrible I'd have killed myself long ago."

"Not getting enough sleep?"

"Hell no."

There was something about the phrase that sounded off. X frowned. "But that's not it either?"

"No."

"Then what...?"

Zero sighed. "X, do you have any idea what it's like to be close to a woman, so close you can feel her heart beating, to be connected on an intimate level nothing else can match... and see no emotion in her eyes at all?"

X raised an eyebrow. "If that's the reaction you're getting then I would have to say you're not doing it right."

Zero made a snorting noise that was half disgust and half amusement. "That's not what I mean. Of course they enjoy it, but shouldn't there be more to it? Shouldn't it be more than just fun?"

X frowned. He thought he could see what Zero was getting at. "You mean love?"

Zero visibly flinched at the word. "Yeah, something like that."

X frowned as he finally picked up a freedom fry and poked it into a puddle of ketchup, munching on it meditatively. "Well, I dunno about in general, but my personal experience holds that this isn't necessarily the case."

Zero turned to him with surprise written all over his features. "But you and Alia-"

X cut him off. "Have I ever said Alia and I were in love?"

"Well, no, but..."

"But?"

Zero grimaced a little and shrugged. "Hell, it's you X. Shacking up with a hot chick for the hell of it just isn't your style."

X burst out laughing. It actually took him a second to regain his composure, grinning and shaking his head as he popped another potato wedge into his mouth. "True, true. But it's different with Alia. You remember when she was first assigned to me, right?"

Zero pursed his lips. "I believe your exact words were, 'If Signas thinks I can't do this job without some ditz telling me to look out for spike traps, then he must think someone else kicked Sigma's ass off Final Weapon.'" He paused. "You do remember I helped you with that, right?"

"Yes, for which I'm very grateful. The point is, though, that while I don't need Alia's help on the field as much as she'd like to think, she's also keeps an eye out for me the rest of the time, and that, I can assure you, is invaluable."

Zero blinked, so X elaborated. "It's the little things. You know how I used to be before Repliforce Zero, I was a wreck. Whining about pacifism, never getting enough sleep, popping off at Geoffrey every two days..."

The crimson wonder chuckled. "That was kind of funny, actually."

"True, but forget that for a second. Alia was just THERE for me. When I needed that extra cup of coffee come morning, she had a big steaming one. When I was stressed and someone needed to tell me to chill out, she did it. When I had some kind of ridiculous military function to attend, she made sure my suit got pressed. When I wrenched my back in a training simulation, she force fed me painkillers."

"And the sex? I KNOW there's sex X, and you two aren't exactly standoffish in public either."

X shrugged. "Sure there's a physical side to it, there has to be. Everyone needs a hug now and then. It just so happens in our case that the hug escalated one night and we discovered a very potent way to relieve stress. But we never talk about it like a relationship. We never use the L word. It just is what it is, and I'm not complaining." He left out the question he'd asked Alia after Argo's death, about possibly hurting her. The possibility was remote enough to be laughable, but it was definitely a relationship sort of question. Alia hadn't batted an eye at it, and he wasn't sure exactly what that meant.

"So basically you're saying I should stop bullshitting and be happy with what I've got," groused Zero.

"Far from it. I'm saying everyone is different. If casual sex is getting to you, then stop. If you want to start a real relationship with someone, then go for it."

All of a sudden Zero seemed to fold into himself without physically doing anything. It was rather unnerving to watch, the usually calm and confident hunter suddenly assuming a mental fetal position. "It's not that simple," he muttered.

X frowned a little. "Why not?"

Zero let out a long sigh. "Last night, when we were... in the throes of passion... I looked at the one I was currently working with... Jesus, I can't even remember which one it was... and..." He made a soft choking noise before he got it out. "I called her Iris."

Shit. X let his hamburger drop back onto his plate, suddenly losing his appetite. This would be bad territory with anyone, but in Zero's case it had the potential to be even worse, given his views towards violence, which could be just as convoluted as X's if it came down to it.

Zero and Iris had had a funny relationship. They'd never used the L word either, but it had been easily identifiable as dating, even if it wasn't exactly "serious." It might have been a by-product of Zero's friendship with Colonel, but that wasn't exactly right. Zero didn't open up to anyone, except X and Dr. Cain, and even they had to drag some things out of him with meathooks. That Zero had apparently trusted Iris enough to make a stab at a relationship with her was a big thing, but it had also led to problems. X was one of the few people who knew about the problems they'd had, of Zero's issues with trust, and his fiercely protective nature. The dating relationship had been on and off again and again, and had strained Zero's camaraderie with Colonel. Towards the end they'd patched things up a little, and it seemed like Zero was finally starting to open up more.

And then, in fits of violence at the spaceport and on Final Weapon, he'd killed them both.

X didn't know about the details, but he had gleaned from the few conversations they'd had about it that Zero's feelings had been a rather chaotic mix during those fights. Zero didn't think about battle, he did it by instinct, and that was part of what made him so dangerous. Thinking about the battles with Colonel and Iris had brought him close to defeat, especially against the perfect war machine that Colonel had been, and the monstrous fusion of the two powers that Iris had somehow become. In the end, destroying them was a matter of survival, but X knew that a part of Zero relished combat, any combat, and that was a hell of a thing to pile on top of the two deaths. And to top it all off, the one person he should have been able to unload on, the one person he'd finally been ready to open up to in a way that he'd never done before, was the very woman he'd inadvertently slain.

"I don't know what to tell you," X said after a moment. "That... that's bad. It's always been bad. But you... I don't mean this the wrong way, but you can't..."

"I can't dwell on the past," said Zero, frowning. "I know, but I can't help but feel like Iris was my last chance. My only chance. And now... Jesus X, it's like there's just a big hole through where she used to be, and I don't know what to put in there."

"If there was an easy answer, I'd give it to you," said X. "Honest I would Zero, but... well, there just isn't."

"Don't I know it," Zero grumped, sounding a bit more like his usual self. X patted him on the back.

"On the other hand, if having gratuitous amounts of sex with random partners is making you this depressed, I may just suggest you give it up. And maybe share the wealth a little."

Zero raised an eyebrow. "Done the first, actually, and fortunately with no hard feelings on the part of the girls, but you certainly don't need my clout to bag a few ladies of your own. Anyway, you don't think Alia would object to no longer being your main source of comfort?"

"Hell, she might even be into it. I wouldn't be surprised by ANYTHING that woman is in to..."

-

"That movie was terrible."

Cassy sighed and rolled her eyes. She and Vile were just leaving the movie theatre after viewing Star Wars Episode Sixteen: The Attack of Jedi Clone's Revenge. Since Vile just walking around casually would have resulted in mass panic, he had attempted to dress down, and to most observers they appeared to be merely a young couple out on the town, her in a casual blouse and skirt, him in jeans and a button down shirt. The only thing that could be considered vaguely odd about the two was Vile's face which, while a perfect cover for someone who wore a helmet all the time, was also part of the reason why Vile wore a helmet all the time. He was not by any means an unattractive man, but his optics were solid red and his unruly black hair hung almost to his shoulders and had a tendency to drift in front of his face. This last bit was actually a bit of a blessing, as it covered up the fact that his right eye was marred by a bone white scar that ran from his chin up into his hairline.

The wound was a souvenir of his long ago battle with X and Zero, when the exploding shrapnel of his dying ride armor had somehow gotten into his helmet and half blinded him. He still maintained that was how X had managed to kill him. When Doppler had attempted to resurrect him without it, he'd promptly cut himself a new one, a reminder that he still had foes to kill. He'd been quite insane at the time, thanks to Doppler's dose of the Maverick virus. When he'd been resurrected a second time the scar had been left where it was, but his right optic had also been repaired, though it no longer glowed with powerful emotions as his left continued to do. Vile really had no problem with this state of affairs, as he could enjoy the benefits of the scar's shock value while retaining sight in both eyes. He was about ready to stab himself in said eyes, however, after that movie.

"Oh come on," said Cassy, grabbing his arm and cuddling against him petulantly. "It wasn't THAT bad."

"Boba Fett's clone was killed when Han Solo's headless clone accidentally performed a drop kick that threw him into the fifth Death Star's power core."

Cassy frowned as they stopped for traffic. "Okay, I guess it was that bad. I managed to distract you from the battle between the Emperor clone army and the Luke Skywalker clone army by sticking my tongue down your throat though, right?"

Vile chuckled and put an arm around her waist, pulling her close. "That you did, my dear, that you did." He gently pulled her hair away and pressed his lips against the back of her neck. She shivered in response, clutching his hand. She loved it when he did that. Vile didn't care if they were in public or the seclusion of the apartment they'd cohabited since Argo's death three weeks ago, when he felt like showing affection for her he showed it, onlookers be damned. Cassy was unused to this, and couldn't decide whether it was embarrassing or thrilling. The blush on her face and the tremble in her knees suggested both.

"Th- the light's red... we can go."

"Hmmm, so we can." He nipped at her neck and straightened up, putting an arm around her and leading her hot and bothered self through the crosswalk. A glance out of the corner of her eye confirmed that he was grinning like a hyena. He liked making her feel embarrassed, and that always gave her a gnawing feeling at the edge of her stomach. She knew him well enough by now to know that he teased her just as much because he knew it made her uncomfortable as because they both knew she actually liked it. That small trace of sadism always scared her when it showed, and reminded her just how dangerous this man was. She'd seen the news; she knew what he was capable of. For some reason, however, he'd decided to spare her all but the faintest traces of his dark side, choosing instead to indulge in much more pleasant instincts around her. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why, but she felt too privileged to heed the good sense that told her to run before he hurt her worse than Argo had.

Of course, she wasn't unprepared for the possibility either. He'd actually shown her a thing or two about self defense, and she'd come a long way from being a frightened, helpless woman who cowered when her husband beat her. The beam dagger strapped to her thigh wasn't just for moral support, either. Now if only she could learn a trick with it that he hadn't taught her she might stand a chance of surviving if he went apeshit...

"Hey, Cassy! Is that you?"

Both reploids stiffened, then slowly turned around. Cassy had met a number of Argo's fellow soldiers in the 17th Maverick Hunter unit, and two of them were approaching right now. Geoffrey had actually cleaned up for once, and sported a clean shirt and a pair of slacks, though he had apparently insisted on his trench coat, despite the warm weather. His companion was another of X's sergeants, a willowy reploid woman named Delphyne who was currently wearing jeans and a long-sleeved blouse, deep green hair free and whipping in the breeze.

Vile tensed, his arm suddenly very heavy around Cassy's shoulders. He recognized Geoffrey from his abortive kidnapping scheme a few months ago, and it wasn't hard to guess where the woman with him knew Cassy from. His mind worked rapidly, trying to pin down a plan of action. His strongest instinct was to summon his armor and blow the little shits to hell and back, but then his cover would be blown, and... He blinked. He realized he didn't want to risk Cassy getting hurt. It was unlikely that she would be, of course, but the mere possibility made him pause. Worrying about someone else was an odd sentiment for him, and he wasn't sure if it made him feel strangely good about himself or just pissed him off.

Fortunately, Vile's moral dilemma gave Cassy time to whisper "Just stay calm!" in his ear and slip out of his embrace to greet Delphyne with the customary squeal and hug combo that women use to pretend they're ecstatic to see people whose names they barely remember. Geoffrey and Vile just sort of stood back, trading looks that said, "Eesh, women."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Delphyne started, suddenly standing back from the embrace. "When X told the rest of us about Argo, I was so worried about you! I'm so glad it worked out."

Cassy blanched. "Wha- what exactly did X tell you?" she asked, suddenly feeling very exposed. Geoffrey came forward and gave her a pat on the shoulder and a comforting smile. "Just that old Argo wasn't quite the man we thought he was. Didn't come as much of a surprise to me, frankly. The way that guy got in the middle of a fight its no wonder he had trouble controlling himself."

"Well, I was surprised as all hell," said Delphyne, giving Cassy another brief hug. "I'm just glad you seem to be alright. You are alright, aren't you?"

Cassy smiled. The concern was awkward but so heartfelt she couldn't help feeling touched. "I'm just fine," she said, "I... I met someone who helped me out a lot, as a matter of fact."

"Is that your friend here?" asked Geoffrey, turning to Vile. The Maverick tensed, but Geoffrey didn't seem to notice anything unusual about him, simply extending his hand for a greeting.

"Yes," Cassy said quickly, "this is Vi- uh, Virgil. Virgil, meet Geoffrey and Delphyne. Geoffrey and Delphyne, Virgil."

"Charmed," said the newly christened Virgil, managing to keep a straight face. Delphyne shook his hand as well, and then turned back to Cassy.

"What are you two up to?"

"Oh, just the usual, dinner and a movie," Cassy's smile was starting to grow forced. She could practically feel the irritation Vile was exuding, and she knew she had to get him away from the two hunters before he dismembered them. Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other ideas.

"Us too!" said Geoffrey, pulling Delphyne into a one-armed hug. "Romantic evening out and all that, followed shortly by a glass of wine in front of the fireplace and a good long sha-OW!"

Geoffrey started hopping up and down, holding the foot that Delphyne had dug her heel into. She returned Cassy and Vile's confused stares with a too-sweet smile.

"We're not on a date," she said, "Geoffrey never has anything to do on Fridays and I was taking pity on him. So! What movie are you going to see?"

"Uh, actually we already saw one, the new Star Wars," Cassy said, fighting the urge to turn around and make sure Vile wasn't pulling out a weapon of some sort.

"Really?" said Geoffrey, suddenly unflappable again, "what a coincidence, us too! I'm just sorry it was a piece of crap. Boba Fett should have owned Han and Chewbacca, no matter how many headless clones they had."

Vile, who had just then been imagining ways to torment the two hunters with hot pokers, suddenly felt the violent urges die with a small, pathetic whimper. Could it be? Had he found a kindred spirit at last?

"Well, hey," said Delphyne, "since I assume we're both going to dinner now, why not split the bill? Geoffrey and I were headed for the Titanium Wok, unless you two want to go someplace else..."

"Actually, that's just where we were heading," said Vile in a voice that was positively pleasant. Warning bells went off in Cassy's head. "We'd be delighted to join you," he finished, ignoring the nervous twitch his date had suddenly developed.

"Capital!" Said Geoffrey, "lead on, my date and I have a few things to-OW! For the love of pudding that was the same foot...!"

Cassy and Vile turned and headed for their favorite restaurant, the two Maverick Hunters in tow. Fortunately, Geoffrey and Delphyne were arguing loudly enough that they could talk without too much risk of being overheard.

"DON'T tell me you're going to gut them in a restaurant!" Cassy whispered fiercely to her lover. Vile responded by laughing and patting her on the head. "Nothing half so crude my dear. Just relax. You wanted to have a nice, normal evening, and we're having one. Maverick Hunters notwithstanding."

Cassy wasn't totally reassured, but she didn't protest further. After a moment Vile leaned back against her, left eye suddenly glowing with barely restrained menace.

"VIRGIL!?"

She restrained a giggle. "It was the best I could come up with," she replied lamely. Vile heaved a sigh.

This was going to be an interesting dinner.

-

The greatest reploid mind in existence had been, without a doubt, the genius Dr. Doppler. With a dual megacomputer to enhance his brain's already unusually powerful intellect, the doctor had possessed a mind the likes of which no reploid designer had ever been able to duplicate. Some claimed that up and comer Gate would one day match Doppler's achievements, but thus far the crown remained firmly on Doppler's wrinkled brow.

Of course, that didn't mean other reploids couldn't come pretty freakin' close.

Doppler had been the pinnacle of the Cray series, reploids designed primarily to think. Gig was a less successful but later model, sporting gunmetal gray armor and neon green eyes that flashed with complicated code patterns as his positronic brain went about its work. Of course he also sported the trademark computer cylinders on his shoulders, as well as the wild white hair and labcoat, though in a desperate flailing for individuality his coat sported metallic green trim.

Commissioned by the Maverick Hunters shortly after Doppler had proven the design to be so successful, Gig was, for all intents and purposes, the face of the hunter's computer system. Linked with every computer on the base and the vast cyber network beyond, Gig could access information from literally almost anywhere in the blink of an eye. What information that wasn't readily available to him could be easily hacked into with his mad skills, but he rarely attempted such a feat. In any case, his current assignment didn't require anything nearly so clandestine. Hunter personnel files were hardly classified, even if looking into them was generally frowned upon. For this particular hunter lieutenant, though, he was willing to do just about anything.

"I'm NOT going to flash you," said Lana. She was in civilian garb, a white t-shirt and khakis, but there was no mistaking Zero's second-in-command. Her reputation didn't just come from her boss, either.

Gig sighed as he led the way towards the computer lab. "I was JOKING. Get over yourself. Besides," he added as he opened the door to an empty side room and ushered her inside. "It's not like what you want me to do is particularly hard."

"I know," she replied, flicking on the light as she walked in. "But I still appreciate you being discreet about this."

"I'm amazed you're so concerned," said Gig, closing the door. "Is there a spy in our midst?" It was the only reason he could think of someone being so worried about accessing such an innocuous file.

"No," she shook her head quickly, ivory white locks flicking about her shoulders. "Nothing like that, but it's... well, it's kind of hard to explain. Just show me the file and maybe it'll make more sense. I want a look at Geoffrey from the 17th Unit."

Gig nodded, his eyes abruptly flashing solid green. Before him appeared a translucent hologram of the elite hunter in all his scruffy glory, smiling roguishly. "Anything in particular you want to know about him?"

"Hmmm... background's always a good place to start. Then combat capabilities, special attacks, anything."

The hologram compressed, fitting into the top right corner of an imaginary sheet of paper, while floating words appeared beneath him. "Lesse," said Gig, "manufactured in Megacity 4, old London, during the second Maverick war. Originally a 'Bard' class, designed for entertainment."

Lana raised an eyebrow. "Entertainment?"

"Actor, singer, etcetera. Pre-programmed with the most notable plays, books, poems, and songs of known history. Dude could recite all of Shakespeare's stuff and every translation of the Canterbury Tales from memory. Worked in the theatre district for a while before he had a disagreement with his boss, apparently something to do with the guy's wife. Moved to Megacity 1 after that and... disappeared." He blinked. "Hm, that's odd. There's literally no record of him until he joined up six months before the Doppler uprising."

"Any chance of Maverick activity during that period?" Lana asked, hating herself but wanting to cover all the bases.

"Considered, but he was virus free and had no criminal record. He was added to the 17th Unit for his high combat rankings in the simulators, proved himself and made a Sergeant when the 17th and 0 units infiltrated Doppler Town, which I'm sure you're aware of."

"Yeah. Cocky sonofagun saved my ass from a giant centipede."

"I hadn't heard about that one. Oh well, that's all we have on his past. You wanted to know about his weaponry?"

"Yup."

The hologram of Geoffrey returned to life size, only now it moved, showing the hunter draw his broadsword-shaped beam saber and wield it with casual ease, flicking about the huge red blade as though it weighed nothing, which in fact it did, being made of energy. Nonetheless, Lana knew that few hunters on the force could match Geoffrey's finesse with a blade.

"Well, the beam saber's pretty obvious, and he's damn good with the thing too, trains with S class drones and, I hear, is two to four against Zero. Aside from that..." The hologram shifted, the image putting away its sword and drawing a long, sleek blaster pistol which fired beams of brilliant blue plasma. "A variation of the EE-3 plasma rifle, modified for one handed use. Doesn't pack near as much punch as a standard issue arm cannon, but it does have a higher rate of fire, and he's an A-ranked marksman."

Lana nodded. She knew all this. The 17th and 0 units worked together fairly regularly, and she'd seen Geoffrey in action. It wasn't that he was especially exceptional, all of X's soldiers were capable warriors, but what she'd always noticed about Geoffrey was the remarkably half-assed way he did everything. Even the usually jovial Zero became grim in the midst of combat, but Geoffrey cut down legions of foes with a smile on his face and a song on his lips. Still, that wasn't what she'd been hoping to get an insight into.

"No innate weapons? No special attacks or anything?"

Gig frowned, mentally running a few internal checks to make sure there wasn't anything else on record to contradict the information in the file. It wasn't impossible- the file he'd pulled up was actually a slightly edited and outdated version of another file composed by the officers who'd recruited Geoffrey and those that had trained or commanded him. Every hunter had such a file, and they also had the stripped down version that was available for general perusal, only without personal comments from officers or anything that might compromise security. After a moment's hesitation, he went ahead and scanned the classified file as well- his security clearance was second only to the upper echelons of the Maverick Hunter command structure, and the information Lana was looking for wouldn't be a significant compromise of her clearance... if it was there...

"Nothing," he reported. "Like I said, he was designed to be an actor, so no need for innate attacks. No record of having anything installed either. I suppose he could have and just not told anyone about it..."

"...but why keep something like that from your fellow squadmates?" Lana finished, frowning hugely. Especially when you had something as powerful up your sleeve as that "Wyvern Strike" had been. Something about this bothered her. It wasn't that she suspected Geoffrey of anything untoward, he'd proved his loyalty on more than one occasion. Nonetheless, instinct was screaming at her that this was unusual enough to merit some investigation, and Lana listened to her instincts.

"Is that what this is about?" Gig asked, "Geoffrey pulled a special attack out of his ass and you're worried there might be more to him than meets the eye?"

Lana nodded. "Basically. I don't know why I'm worried, exactly. He's definitely on our side. Still... an enigma wrapped in a mystery..."

Gig shut off the hologram. "Well, I dunno what I could tell ya. I'll run some more checks on him, but if you ask me it's probably nothing to worry about. Geoffrey always had a flair for the dramatic, he probably just likes to keep his best stuff secret."

"Yeah, probably. Thanks Gig, you were a big help."

"Don't mention it," the walking computer replied as he turned to leave. "Anything for my favorite huntress. Let me know if you need anything else."

"You got it. Oh, and Gig?"

He turned with a question on his lips, a question that died very quickly as Lana lifted up her t-shirt and gave him a look at what she'd been most graciously endowed with. Gig stood there even after she quickly replaced her clothing, his eyes wide and jaw working, though no sound came out. Lana favored him with a manic grin and patted him on the arm as she walked past him and out the door. Gig slowly turned to watch her go, finally pulling himself out of his stupor and shaking his head, grinning.

"Damn. For a woman, she's got balls."

-

"So Virgil," Delphyne asked, setting down her chopsticks. "We know Cassy writes a column for the Daily Reploid, what do you do for a living?"

Cassy almost choked on her sushi, but Vile remained remarkably nonchalant. "Weapons research," he replied, leaning back and slipping an arm around Cassy, gently patting her on the back. The piece of fish finally went down the right way and she made a grab for her water.

"That's interesting," said Geoffrey, "what company?"

"A private contractor," Vile said, smiling a little. "I have a contact who designs the toys, I just test them."

"Hmmm, sounds like my old job," said Delphyne, subtly stealing Geoffrey's fortune cookie. "Paid better than being a hunter, but wasn't quite as satisfying."

Vile's face twitched just a bit, his smile melting into a straighter line. "No, I don't suppose it would be..."

"I don't suppose," said Geoffrey thoughtfully, "that your contact is purple?"

Everyone stared at him for a moment. He shrugged. "Just an idle question. A few months back me and the boss ran into a Maverick who said he'd been rebuilt by a purple guy. I've been thinking a private engineer, working alone, would be the perfect suspect."

Vile's mouth twitched. "Really? That's not a bad theory... who was this Maverick you ran into, by the way?"

"You've probably heard of him," said Geoffrey, "sonofabitch goes by the name Vile."

"Vile..." Vile nodded, slowly. "Yeah, I've heard of him." Cassy was positive her heart was going to explode, it was pumping so fast.

"I heard he was actually a hunter once," mused Delphyne. "That was before our time, though. Supposedly he was one of the best on the force before he went Maverick."

"He was brutal," said Geoffrey, "just a few weeks ago he..." He trailed off, then his eyes widened. "Oh, he was the one who killed Argo- oh God Cassy, I'm sorry."

Cassy shook her head. "It's okay. He actually did me a favor. If he hadn't attacked Argo when he did, he would've..." she made a choking noise, then set her jaw. "Argo would have killed me, otherwise. I'm glad Vile was there, no matter what he's done in the past." She took his hand under the table and gave it a gentle squeeze, which he returned.

"Hmm, imagine being grateful to Vile," said Delphyne, idly stirring the ice remaining in her glass with her straw. "I guess it's not too far-fetched. You are a fellow reploid, after all."

Geoffrey shrugged. "Eh, I just think the old boy's gone soft. He kidnapped a little girl a few months ago and didn't hurt a hair on her head. Probably doesn't have the stones for it anymore."

Vile gripped his chopsticks so hard they snapped in half. Fortunately, the noise just happened to coincide with a horrendous explosion that trembled the windows of the restaurant. Everyone in the dining room whirled around to see a car fly past the windows, trailing fire, and hit another one in the road, resulting in a massive fireball.

"GET DOWN," Geoffrey bellowed, diving to the floor with Delphyne and Vile, who pushed Cassy underneath himself. Seconds later the windows shuddered and exploded inwards, scattering razor shards of glass throughout the dining room. A second later Geoffrey was back on his feet, sweeping the glass off his coat, which he'd used to protect himself and Delphyne.

The huntress leapt to her feet and a flash of green light swirled around her body, replacing her casual clothes with her sparking emerald and gold armor. Geoffrey simply reached into his coat and drew his huge beam saber. "Everyone stay calm!" he yelled, "stay here, you should be safe! The wounded should wait for the paramedics to arrive, we'll take care of whatever that was!"

A second later he was out the window and running in the direction the car had flown from, Delphyne immediately behind him. Vile rolled off of Cassy, who despite feeling a little squashed was unhurt. Vile, though...

"Oh my god," Cassy drew in a sharp breath as she saw the glass shard poking out the back of Vile's shoulder. He surveyed the damage with a grimace.

"Ehhh, it's just a flesh wound. Yank it out for me, will ya?"

"Wh-what!?"

"Nobody ruins my date without paying the piper, I'm gonna go kick some ass. Hurry and get this out, then wait for the fireworks to die down and get your cute little ass home. I'll meet you there."

Cassy could tell from the look he gave her that arguing would be useless. She gingerly grabbed the glass piece, grimaced, and yanked it out. It wasn't imbedded very deep, and came out relatively easily. Vile just grunted, pulled her in for a quick kiss, and jumped out the window.

"Fucking wierdass date," she muttered. "And it's still better than anything I ever did with Argo."

-

"Quick, beam in your armor," Delphyne said as she and Geoffrey pushed their way through the fleeing crowd.

"Can't," replied the British hunter, "it doesn't have warp capacity."

"You- it doesn't what!? Are you retarded!?"

"Oh, probably. Well lookie what he have here..."

The source of the disturbance turned out to be a tall, lanky humanoid reploid decked out in black armor with sparkling blue and gold highlights. His blonde hair was wildly spiked up above his head and his gauntlets each housed a pair of menacing blades shaped like the prongs of an electrical plug, which predictably crackled with electricity. He had run out of cars to blow up and now seemed content to simply tear up the street with blasts of golden lightning.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" roared Geoffrey in a voice that could only be described as commanding. "I am Sergeant Geoffrey of the 17th Elite Maverick Hunter Unit! Stand down immediately or be declared Maverick and retired! This is your ONLY warning, asshole!"

The reploid simply cackled and held out his hands, the blades jutting out over them crackling with energy. "You can call me Cardiac!" he shouted back, "and you're barbecue!"

He launched an attack of twin lightning blasts, aiming one eat each hunter. Geoffrey and Delphyne simply leapt aside, having seen the attacks coming from a mile away. Cardiac wasn't done, however, and continued to pour more energy into the blasts, chasing the other reploids with lightning.

Delphyne made a "harumph" noise. While most female reploids tended towards lighter armor and more agility in their fighting style, she personally favored heavy armor, which allowed her to support the wing-like thrusters that jutted out of her shoulder plates. With a mental command the rockets opened and fired, carrying her up and over the lightning arc. Before Cardiac could react, she'd transformed her right arm into a fearsome buster cannon and proceeded to rain down rapid fire blasts of highly explosive plasma at her opponent. Cardiac scowled, but disappeared with a flash of light and a crackle of electricity, avoiding the huntress's attack completely.

Geoffrey twirled his beam saber in his hand, igniting it and whirling around in a deadly arc. Just as he'd guessed, Cardiac warped in behind him, arm blades ready for a surprise attack. The Maverick yelped when he realized his ambush had been turned against him and raised his arms, blocking Geoffrey's blow with his arm blades. He wasn't hurt, and the energy surrounding the litanium blades prevented them from being melted by the heat of Geoffrey's blade, but the force of the blow sent Cardiac skidding backwards, off balance. A second later Delphyne came roaring up behind Geoffrey, arm cannon raised and charging.

"TITAN BREAKER!"

The huntress' signature attack was a great stream of plasma shaped like a curling dragon. It actually shot out to the side and encircled Cardiac before rearing up and diving at him with a fierce scream. Cardiac frowned magnificently. Instead of warping away, he retracted his arm blades, while his large shoulder pads opened up to reveal recessed energy cannons. With a high-pitched whine of collecting energy, they unleashed twin waves of electrical power that encircled him in a spherical shield, and then blasted outwards in a lethal 360 degree wave. Plasma dragon met electric wall, and the two attacks cancelled each other out with a draconian scream and a flash of light. When it cleared, Cardiac was nowhere to be seen.

Geoffrey and Delphyne whirled, ready to counter their opponent's attack from behind. Unfortunately, Cardiac got smart and re-warped back to his original place, arm blades re-emerging before he stabbed them into the street.

"THUNDER RUIN!"

It was usually a much more straightforward attack, but Cardiac was versatile. The street exploded as the electrical wires beneath it overloaded, hurling themselves into the air. One flapped over Geoffrey's shoulder and the business end struck him full in the chest. Another coiled around Delphyne's ankle. The hunters let out twin screams of agony as the awesome current slammed into them with a sensation like being beaten with hammers. The attack only lasted a few seconds, but that was enough. Geoffrey tipped over forward and fell limply to the ground, while Delphyne had a bit further to drop before she slammed into the ruined asphalt.

Cardiac giggled. "Well, that was easier than I thought."

Then a blast of blue lightning struck him in the back and hurled him into the side of a building.

"Truer words were ne'er spoken, asshat."

Vile strode down the street in all his dark glory, shoulder cannon still smoking from its trial run. Cardiac stared at the legendary Maverick with surprise. "Wh-what was that for!?"

"Don't ask me to explain it. It won't make any sense to you anyway. Suffice to say I'm mad at you. This always results in death." Vile strode up to where Cardiac lay stunned on the sidewalk, helplessly struggling against his bonds. Vile laughed and put a hand on his missile launcher.

"I'm actually impressed that you managed to take down two top-ranked hunters on your own, but you nonetheless have the misfortune to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Don't be too scared, I'll make it quick."

Cardiac's desperate grimace abruptly turned into a smile and the blue-white energy that arced over his body suddenly took on a golden hue. "How nice for you. I won't."

"What the fu-ARGH!" Vile flew backwards as Cardiac unleashed a blast of electricity right in his face. The Maverick hit the side of the building on the other side of the street and slumped to the ground, dazed. Cardiac warped across the street and raised his arm, preparing to impale Vile on his arm blades.

"I actually came out of hiding to find you, if you must know. I thought we'd make a good team. But I'll be just as satisfied with the reputation of taking your head!"

"TITAN BREAKER!"

"Oh SHIT." Cardiac managed, with feeling, before the snaking plasma blast struck him heavily in the side and hurled him away.

"Ooh, beaten up by a girl, that has to be embarrassing," Vile cackled as he hauled himself to his feet. He didn't get very far before he felt the happy end of Delphyne's arm cannon jab him in the side of the head.

"I don't know what kind of spat you two are having, but I'm not gonna give up the opportunity to put YOU down," she growled. Vile jerked to the side and clamped his hand over the end of her weapon just as she fired.

WHOOMP!

"OW!"

"Jack shit!"

The two reploids staggered away from each other, snarling in pain. Vile growled as he looked at his smoking and sparking arm. His hand hadn't been badly damaged, though the blast had scorched off most of the protective glove. His force shield unit was definitely out now, though. The doc was gonna have kittens about that.

Delphyne, for her part, had a ruined buster. She managed to revert it back to her normal arm with a pained cry. Her other arm wasn't equipped to transform, so she was out of long-range attacks now. She wasn't exactly helpless though; energy emitters popped out of the tops of her gauntlets and hummed to life, equipping her with two sets of neon green energy claws.

"Ugh... is this... a private party... or can anyone play...?" Delphyne whirled to see Geoffrey pulling himself painfully to his feet. She was visibly taken aback. "Geoffrey!? How did you take that attack without any armor? I'm surprised your generator didn't rupture!"

He just grinned roguishly at her and re-ignited his beam saber. "Can't put a good man down, luv. I'd be jiggered if I missed a fight this entertaining."

Meanwhile, Cardiac was also pulling himself to his feet. The titan breaker had hurt him, and badly; his entire left side was stripped bare of armor and skin, and red circulatory fluid poured out of the wound, obscuring his metallic insides. It wasn't lethal, but he knew he couldn't fight off two Maverick Hunters and Vile with such an injury. Smiling mirthlessly, he triggered his warping ability.

...or not. He swore loudly as he realized Delphyne's blast had shorted out his teleporter. With a snarl, he collected a ball of crackling lightning between his palms and hurled it at the huntress.

"You die first, bitch!"

Unfortunately, the insult warned both hunters what was coming and they nimbly sidestepped the attack, rushing towards the Mavericks with a vengeance. "You deal with the walking plug!" shouted Delphyne, "I'll take care of old purple face!"

"I can deal with that," growled Vile. He fired his flamethrower, filling the street with napalm. Two halves of an armored visor slid out of the side of Delphyne's helmet and locked together, protecting her face as she ignited her rockets and blasted heedlessly through the fire. She was on Vile in another second, slashing at him with the beam blades on her gauntlets. Vile simply dodged backwards with a hop, skip, and a jump, staying tantalizingly just out of her reach. Delphyne gave her thrusters an extra burst and spun in mid-air, slashing at Vile a dozen times in a few seconds. He held up his left hand and easily blocked the attacks, one at a time, then kicked her square in the chin, hurling her up and back, before planting a missile in the middle of her breastplate. Her armor was too thick to let the round penetrate, but it did take heavy damage, and the force of the point blank explosion sent her flying back and into the street again, heavily sedated.

"That takes care of that," he muttered, turning to see what was happening with his other playmates. Cardiac was keeping Geoffrey at bay with short blasts of lightning, but he had yet to hit the nimble hunter, and with every blast Geoffrey came closer, his beam saber getting uncomfortably nearer the Maverick's throat with each slash. Cardiac was growing desperate, as evidenced by the wild look in his eyes. Finally, with a frustrated scream, he charged. Geoffrey took advantage of the wild rush to stab his opponent in the shoulder, but his blade hit more armor than flesh, and Cardiac grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground, left arm raised and ready to impale the hunter on his arm blades.

"Time to be defenestrated!!!" the Maverick snarled, and brought down his weapons. Except he didn't, because a huge hand grabbed his arm and easily held it there. Cardiac turned to see what was going on, and was thoroughly shocked to find himself confronting an entirely new face.

Vile skidded to a halt, surprised. The newcomer had appeared out of nowhere, apparently without even teleporting. The reploid was tall and dressed in black armor trimmed with gold, an indigo cloak flowing out behind him. Purple eyes blazed behind a black mask on a helmet with twin, fin-like crests. He showed no sign of strain as he lifted Cardiac off of his opponent and held him aloft with one hand.

"Cardiac," it spoke with a voice like the wrath of God. "You have been chosen."

"Oh yeah!? Well choose THIS!!!" Cardiac jabbed his free hand at the reploid's stomach, striking him with the full force of his electrical fury. To Cardiac's complete and utter shock the reploid simply stood there, letting the energy wash over him. His armor was somewhat scorched at the point of impact, and his cloak caught fire, but the huge reploid showed no sign that he felt it. Eventually Cardiac ran out of juice and hung there, panting.

"Are you done?" Without waiting for an answer, the dark reploid's eyes fired twin beams of destructive purple energy, punching into Cardiac's chest and blasting through his torso, not giving his generator time to explode before it was totally blown apart. Dead before he realized what had happened to him, Cardiac hung limply in the reploid's grasp. His killer nonchalantly grabbed his burning cloak by the shoulder and swept it off, obscuring himself and his victim from sight. Then, when the cloak fell to the street, its owner was gone. A second later the cloak was gone too, totally consumed.

"Well I'll be dipped in shit and rolled in breadcrumbs," gaped Vile, suitably impressed. Looking around, he noted Delphyne and Geoffrey were both reclaiming their feet, staring with wonder at the spot where Cardiac had been slain.

"Hmm, a few months ago I would have gutted them both just for fun," Vile mused, "but right now I'd infinitely prefer buggering off so I can go screw my girlfriend. Hell, I MUST be going soft if I prefer sex over sweet sweet carnage. Ah well, there will be plenty of carnage in the future." With that he teleported away, just in time to avoid Delphyne's flying tackle. She received a faceful of asphalt for her trouble. "Damnit!"

Geoffrey limped over and helped her up. "Well, this was an interesting date wasn't it?" he asked, grinning. Delphyne resisted the urge to smack him in the face. "Shut up and lets get back to headquarters, I need a bath."

Geoffrey nodded. "Aye, I could go for a hot shower myself..." he trailed off, and then frowned. "Apparently so could Vile."

"Huh? What do you-" she stopped as she looked to where he was pointing. Right next to where she was standing, where Vile had been standing not two minutes ago, was a small puddle of crimson circulatory fluid.

"He was bleeding?" she asked in surprise. "I didn't see him take any damage that serious. He didn't even seem to feel it that bad when I shot him in the hand."

"That's what I was wondering," said Geoffrey, rubbing his chin meditatively. "I thought I saw something dripping from his shoulder, but he didn't get wounded there at all. Maybe he just came from another brawl?"

"That would explain why he didn't stick around to kick our asses," she muttered, then shook her head. "Enough wondering, let's get back and make our report. I need a doctor."

"Sounds good to me." They teleported, leaving the street ruined and empty.

-

Cassy sighed and settled her chin on her folded arms. She was back at the apartment, leaning over the back of the couch and watching the sunset, and waiting. She didn't know why she was so worried. Of COURSE he would come back. He was VILE, after all. Unless X or Zero showed up, he was going to come back.

Of course, there was always that off chance, but...

Abruptly a pair of powerful arms wrapped around her chest and pulled her against an armored body, something hard and warm poking her bottom from behind. She let out a soft mewl that was half surprise and half pleasure, and then his mouth closed over her neck, hot and eager.

"I didn't get to kill anything today," he said huskily, nibbling at her earlobe. "I'm going to be insatiable."

Cassy was the luckiest woman on earth.

-

Mamba was rather a contradiction in terms. While most reploids named "mamba" would actually be snake-like, he was about as humanoid as it got. He did, however, sport shiny black armor with an unusual scale pattern, which at least paid a visual homage to his namesake. That was purely for show, however, while in reality his name referred to a much more practical ability, specifically his talent for moving really, really fast. At the moment, however, he was standing fairly still, leaning against the wall of a proverbially dark back alley. Mamba was neither a hunter nor a Maverick; his allegiance lay with the local organized crime syndicate, which was why he was standing in this particular alley at this time of night. He had a contact to meet.

"Cats ate my baby."

The odd phrase came out of nowhere, but Mamba didn't blink an eye. "There's more than one way to skin a dingo," he replied, nonchalantly. Then he straightened up and turned to find himself facing a mass murderer.

He wasn't worried, of course. The reploid had used the appropriate password, which identified him as Necro, the Salieri family's head assassin. Necro was another reploid whose physical appearance belied his actual lethality. Tall and aristocratic, he wore rich purple armor with white trimmings and a long, flowing cape of the same color. He wore, of all things, a monocle over his right eye, and spoke with a heavy foreign accent. Romanian, thought Mamba, who had always believed the hired killer bore a certain resemblance to Dracula. Indeed, Necro's teeth were unusually pointed and sharp, but that, along with his claw-like hands, was purely for show.

"You've got a juicy target this time," said Mamba as he turned and walked further into the alley. Necro fell into step beside him, having no trouble keeping up with the relatively shorter reploid. "A human fat cat named Amadeus who runs the protection ring in the next neighborhood. If we take him out, his boys won't know who all the contacts are."

"Leaving our illustrious employer free to offer them a helping hand," finished Necro, smirking. He'd been in this business long enough to know how it worked. "Very well then, let us-"

He stopped talking rather abruptly, also coming to a halt in his walking. Mamba halted as well, equally surprised. The alley in front of them had just gotten darker, as though a solid wall had appeared out of nowhere. Then twin lights appeared in the shadows, and Mamba had seen enough stealth reploids walk out of a shadow to recognize them as a pair of balefully glowing optics.

"You're interrupting a private conversation," growled Necro. A stiletto appeared suddenly in his hand, and he flicked it towards the glowing eyes with expert aim. The knife disappeared directly in between them, and both reploids smiled smugly.

Except the eyes didn't go out, nor was there the telltale sound of a knife hitting flesh, synthetic or otherwise, or even bouncing off armor. There was a moment of silence, and then Mamba noticed the shadows shrinking in on themselves, forming a shape. Features became apparent and the darkness solidified into a huge, humanoid reploid clad entirely in black and gray armor, sporting bright golden trim. The wide shoulder epilates trailed a billowing dark blue cloak, and the bizarre, crested helmet covered the reploid's face like a mask, leaving only the glowing purple eyes visible.

"And just who are you supposed to be?" asked Necro, two more knives appearing in his hands as he crouched slightly, taking a battle stance.

The dark reploid didn't reply. Not verbally, anyway. Raising a massive hand, it made a sharp gesture in Mamba's direction, and much to Necro's surprise, the speedy reploid fell back with a cry of pain and a spurt of blood as a flash of malignant violet energy rent open his chestplate. Quickly turning back to his apparent enemy, Necro hurled his knives. The mysterious reploid brought up his other hand, palm out, and with another flash of violent power the daggers stopped in mid-air and clattered to the ground.

But Necro was already on the move, rushing towards the tall reploid with a snarl, twin sonic blades sprouting out of his gauntlets. His knives had been merely metal, if sharp, but his forearm blades could cut through adaman. He could reach his opponent's throat with a jump, but he much preferred the thought of going for his gut. It would be fun to hear the silent figure scream as he yanked out his entrails...

The tall reploid simply held out his other hand in addition to the first, palm outwards, and the ground immediately in front of him erupted, the purple light blasting forward through the concrete in a line right at Necro. The assassin merely smiled and leapt upwards, easily clearing the ground-based attack and-

The reploid allowed his left hand to fall to his side as he clenched his right into a fist and jerked it upwards, as though delivering an uppercut. Necro realized his mistake an instant too late as the energy beneath him erupted upwards and trapped him in a pillar of burning power. The assassin screamed as it invaded his body, his armor cracking and breaking in seconds, his cape burnt to ash, his flesh searing, blood spewing out of his mouth and eyes as he shrieked, long and loud. After what seemed like an eternity the attack ended and Necro fell bonelessly to the ground.

Then Mamba attacked. Moving almost as fast as sound he rushed at the big reploid with a war cry, a curved green beam saber whirling in his hand. His enemy spread his arms as if to counterattack, but he was much too slow, and Mamba capitalized on it, swinging his blade with deadly accuracy at the larger reploid's chest, aiming right for the triangular blue gem in the middle of it. Energy met metal with a loud crack, and to Mamba's absolute horror, the blade actually overloaded and shorted out instead of penetrating the armor, sparks spewing from the handle. In the same motion he turned to run, but the attack had thrown off his timing. The other reploid's huge hand grabbed him by the back of the helmet, lifting him easily off the ground.

Then he heard the voice, a voice like Satan calling up from the caverns of hellfire.

"I had only intended to take the assassin, but you are surprisingly skilled for a simple grunt. You may yet be of use to me."

That was the last thing Mamba heard before the reploid crushed his skull.

Cape billowing behind him, the dark figure strode to Necro's inert body and picked it up by the arm, dragging it behind him much like Mamba's headless corpse as he turned and walked back into the shadows, which spread and enveloped him, leaving nothing behind.

Nothing but the two dark figures watching from atop the building high above, the cloaked organ master and his chain-wrapped companion.

"The first?" asked the blue-armored reploid, glancing at the other. The cloaked reploid shook his head slowly.

"No. Certainly not the first. We would have sensed that." His eyes lit up, sparkling neon green beneath the shadows of his hood as he watched Mamba's blood pool out from his ruined head.

"It would seem we have a new player in the game..."


End file.
